Nautilus reports robust $13.6M profit

Nautilus Inc., the Vancouver-based manufacturer of fitness equipment, reported robust financial results Monday, including a fourth-quarter profit of $13.6 million, with one senior official calling them “the best operating results we’ve reported in over five years.”

“We have a strong, clean balance sheet,” added Linda Pearce, the company’s chief financial officer. Nautilus’ fourth-quarter profit of $13.6 million, or 44 cents per share, compares to a profit of $3.2 million, or 10 cents per share, for the October-to-December period in 2011.

For all of 2012, Nautilus — which makes and sells everything from muscle-building machines to cardio-workout devices — raked in a profit of $16.9 million, or 55 cents per share. That compares to a profit of $1.4 million for all of 2011, or 5 cents per share.

The company’s overall revenues also were up. Its two primary sales channels saw different results, though. Nautilus’ direct-to-consumer segment — through which it sells products by way of TV, social media and other advertising — increased 30 percent, to $41.43 million, in the fourth quarter.

However, the company’s sales in brick-and-mortar retail outlets totaled $21.83 million in the fourth quarter — a nearly 18 percent decrease, year over year.

Bill McMahon, chief operating officer for Nautilus, said he expects retail sales to pick up as the company moves to satisfy retailers’ demands for improved product offerings. That will “put us on a path of market share acquisition versus erosion,” McMahon said.

The company’s stock, which trades as NLS, closed up 18 cents Monday, at $5.96 per share. The company’s shares have traded between $2.20 and $6.20 in the past 52 weeks.

Aaron Corvin: http://twitter.com/col_econ; http://on.fb.me/AaronCorvin; 360-735-4518; aaron.corvin@columbian.com