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The loss from continuing operations was $10.7m compared to earnings from continuing operations of $0.8m reported for the same period last year.
For the year ended December 31st, 2003, Huffy posted a net loss of $7.5m compared to a net loss for the year ended December 31, 2002 of $1.4m.
Net sales for the fourth quarter were $121m compared to sales of $123m million reported for the fourth quarter of 2002, a decrease of approximately 2 percent. For the full year 2003, net sales were $437.7m, compared to net sales of $369.8m reported for the previous year, an increase of approximately 18 percent.
Paul R. D’Aloia, Huffy’s president and CEO said:
"Fourth quarter sales came in within the range we anticipated. However, the sales decline compared to fourth quarter last year and the net loss for the quarter and the year are unacceptable. The bicycle, snowboard and golf product lines all finished the year with solid earnings and in the case of golf and snowboards, strong revenue growth. Conversely, the basketball backboards, in-line skates, and action sports product lines saw significant declines in both sales and margins when compared to last year, along with overall selling and administrative expenses well above acceptable levels."
"Since I moved into the COO role in August, the management team and I have been evaluating alternatives designed to transition the company to a more profitable operating platform. Although the company began consolidating its finance and human resource functions into a shared service group in 2002, it now intends to further consolidate its management, sales, marketing, procurement, logistics and customer service functions. After consideration of various alternatives, we believe that Huffy will be better positioned to serve its customers through further consolidation of its sporting goods business. The sporting goods division will continue to include all of the existing product lines, but will be rationalized further along functional lines with senior management responsible for product design and development, sales, marketing, procurement, distribution, finance and administrative functions headquartered in the Dayton area. The services to retail division will continue to operate as an independent business under its current management."
"We anticipate that over the next six to nine months, we will reduce the existing work force by approximately twenty percent or slightly more than a hundred people."
