Tiger Woods is back in full swing, but Callaway Golf (NYSE:ELY), on the other hand, could use a mulligan after the latest shank. Stepping up to the tee, the company whiffed on its latest results.
For its first quarter, Callaway earned $0.27 per share, well off the $0.59 per share earned a year ago. With a quadruple-bogey for the period, there are a few areas of concern to highlight.
The company's sales declined to $299.9 million, or a 17.6% decrease year over year. Revenues are weaker across the board for Callaway: Domestic sales are down 15%, European sales are down 27%, and in Japan they are down 22%. Golf ball sales also decreased, dropping 18% from the comparable period a year ago. It was also clubbed by declining golf club sales, which sank 17%. While it was taken to the woodshed with revenues for its woods shrinking 47%, the company did show some strength with its irons that increased sales by 12%.
While Callaway hit a shank with its sales, the company tagged its operating margins. Operating profit margins improved 19.9% to its first-quarter level of 33.7%. Unfortunately, no level of operational improvements can salvage earnings if the company's sales don't give them a chance.
Despite strengthening profit margins, Callaway's net income was $18.4 million, compared with $40.5 million from its year-ago period. With its earnings caught in a trap, not surprisingly, the company's cash flow statement was also hung up in a sand bunker. This time last year, it was able to produce $51.7 million of structural free cash flow (or owner earnings). In the first quarter, its owner earnings were $20.9 million, a 59.6% drop from a year ago.
Before its latest earnings miss, analysts were anticipating that the company would earn $0.43 per share this year. When taking into account that in the latest period, its earnings fell short of the consensus estimate by $0.03, even if Callaway pulls off a couple of birdies in the remaining quarters of this fiscal year, it's unlikely that it will do much better than the $0.43 mark. With its stock currently trading at 26 times current-year earnings, this is a good time to shout "Fore!," duck and get of the way, and wait for a better opportunity before stepping up to this tee.
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Fool contributor Jeremy MacNealy does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.
