Callaway Golf "reported a larger profit" for Q1 '15 than analysts expected, despite "headwinds from a strong dollar that drove down sales," according to Mike Freeman of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. Callaway "posted quarterly revenue" of $284M, below a $303M estimate. Sales were 19% "lower than the same quarter" in '14. The decrease "stemmed in part from the timing of club launches and the strong dollar making Callaway’s products more expensive overseas." The company generates "about half of its revenue from foreign sales." Callaway earned $36M in Q1, "usually one of the strongest for the golf equipment industry." Callaway President & CEO Chip Brewer: "Our woods market share is down slightly. It's a competitive category." Brewer added that even with "lower revenue, the company's bottom line benefited from tight cost management and improvements in its manufacturing and supply chains." Brewer "painted an optimistic future for the golf industry." He noted that equipment sales "have improved" and rounds played "are up since the middle of last year" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 4/24). At presstime, shares of Callaway Golf were trading at $9.88, down 1.5% from the close of business on Thursday (THE DAILY).
