Improved gross margin and lower SG&A spend helped push net income up 61% to $38,114,000 from $23,662,000 despite 1% lower revenues at $433,615,000 vs. $439,935,000 in the seasonally important first quarter. Gross margin expanded 80 basis points to 52.2%, SG&A decreased 120 b.p. to $148.0 million, a savings of $7.3 million from last year. Interest expense was just $2.9 million this year down from $13.8 million in 2016 before the IPO. Inventories ended the quarter down 3% to $314.2 million.

Titleist golf ball sales gained 3% to $134.2 million on strong demand for the just launched Pro V1 and Pro V1x ... Log in to view full article.