Two of the world’s biggest fishing
tackle manufacturers reported contrasting sales fortunes in the first quarter
of 2016.
Originally posted in Angling International
Lure making giant, Rapala VMC
Corporation, reported First Quarter net sales of €69.7 million – 6% down from
the previous year (€73.9 million) – while fishing tackle sales at Shimano
increased 5% compared to the same period in 2015 to 16,796 million yen.
Despite reporting a slow start to
2016, Rapala says that its financial guidance for the year remains unchanged
and that it expects net sales and comparable operating profit to be above last
year’s levels.
President and CEO Jorma Kasslin told
investors: “The year started a bit slow, but did not include any major
surprises. In North America the ice fishing season ended up being short, but
now attention has shifted to the summer fishing.”
He added that although the Russian
business environment continued to be ‘challenging’, there were some signs of
stabilisation in the market. “Conditions are also difficult in some other
regions, but we are well positioned to face the challenges.”
Shimano’s fishing operation is
dwarfed by its bicycle components business, which saw its net sales drop by
20.3% from the same period last year to 65.3 billion yen, resulting in a 16.2%
decrease in group sales compared to 2015.
