Acushnet Co. posts record 3Q sales of $318.6M

DOUBLE-DIGIT INCREASES in sales of Titleist and Pinacle golf balls and FootJoy footwear drove 3Q sales to a new record, The Acushnet Co. said.  /
DOUBLE-DIGIT INCREASES in sales of Titleist and Pinacle golf balls and FootJoy footwear drove 3Q sales to a new record, The Acushnet Co. said. /

FAIRHAVEN – The Acushnet Co., citing double-digit increases in sales of golf balls and golf footwear, posted third-quarter revenue of $318.6 million, 6.98 percent more than in the 2006 period and a record for the July-September time frame.

The company reported third-quarter operating income of $30 million, a 0.99-percent decrease from same period of 2006.

The maker of golf products under the Cobra (golf clubs), FootJoy (footwear, apparel and accessories), Pinnacle (golf balls) and Titleist (golf balls, clubs and accessories) brand names, Acushnet is the largest golf equipment and apparel manufacturer in the world.

The Fairhaven-based company is a division of Deerfield, Ill.-based Fortune Brands Inc. (NYSE: FO), which does not break out net income for its operating divisions. (Besides Acushnet, those include a spirits and wine division that features Jim Beam and other liquor products and a home and hardware division that features Moen faucets, among other brands.)

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Parent Fortune Brands posted $2.2 billion in revenue in the third quarter, a decrease of 0.92 percent, as net income totaled $208.9 million, an increase of 38.1 percent. Earnings per diluted share totaled $1.33, an increase of 35.71 percent over the 2006 third quarter.

Acushnet took a $200,000 restructuring charge in the third quarter – although when contacted, the company declined to comment on the reason for that charge.

It also announced the settlement of patent litigation with Bridgestone Sports Co. Ltd., the Japanese manufacturer of Bridgestone and Precept golf balls and clubs, and a division of Bridgestone Corp., the tire and rubber products manufacturer.

Bridgestone had filed suit in March 2005 for violation of a number of its golf ball patents, including those involving the company’s Pro V1, Pro V1x, NXT and NXT Tour balls, among others. Following mediation, the companies announced that Bridgestone would be granting a royalty-bearing license to Acushnet for certain golf ball technologies and designs, although neither company divulged any other details of the license. In addition, the companies agreed to cross-license other patents to one another without exchanging royalty payments.
While this agreement settles all pending litigation in the United States between the companies, Bridgestone said in a statement that “a related suit in Japan was not a part of this settlement and remains pending.”

However, during Fortune Brands’ third-quarter earnings conference call, patent litigation and related costs were cited as having had a negative effect on the company’s third quarter results.

Through the first nine months of 2007, Acushnet posted revenue of $1.16 billion, an increase of 5.89 percent from the year-ago period, with operating income of $172.2 million, an increase of 0.82 percent over the same period last year.

Deerfield, Ill.-based Fortune Brands Inc. (NYSE: FO) – a diversified consumer brands company with annual sales exceeding $8 billion – is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the MCSI World Index. Its businesses include the Fairhaven-based Acushnet Co. (www.acushnetcompany.com), whose golf brands include Titleist, Cobra, FootJoy and Pinnacle. Additional information is available at www.fortunebrands.com.

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