Garmin reports strong revenue, operating income growth

Garmin Ltd. announced results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Dec. 28, 2019.

“2019 was another exciting year of growth thanks to our strong lineup of products and unique innovations,” said Cliff Pemble, president and chief executive officer of Garmin Ltd. “We entered 2020 with a great lineup of recently introduced products with more on the way. We are excited about the future because each business segment offers unique growth opportunities for 2020 and beyond.”

Revenue from the marine segment grew 22% in the fourth quarter, which Garmin said was driven by an innovative product lineup of chartplotters, advanced sonars, and the revolutionary new Force trolling motor.

Gross margin and operating margin improved to 60% and 19%, respectively, resulting in 154% operating income growth. During the quarter, we expanded our flagship chartplotter line-up with the new GPSMAP Plus series and the ECHOMAP UHD series.

Major highlights for Garmin’s fourth quarter 2019 include:

• Total revenue of $1.102 billion, an 18% increase, with fitness, aviation, marine and outdoor collectively increasing 24% over the prior year quarter;
• Gross margin of 58.0% compared to 58.9% in the prior year quarter;
• Operating margin improved to 25.1% compared to 23.9% in the prior year quarter;
• Operating income of $277 million, increasing 24% over the prior year quarter;
• GAAP EPS was $1.89 and pro forma EPS(1) was $1.29, representing 26% growth over the prior year quarter;
• The Force trolling motor and GPSMAP 86i were awarded the highly competitive DAME design award at METSTRADE;
• Record consolidated revenue of $3.758 billion, a 12% increase, with fitness, aviation, marine and outdoor collectively increasing 18% over the prior year;
• Gross margin improved to 59.5% compared to 59.1% in the prior year
• Operating margin improved to 25.2% compared to 23.3% in the prior year;
• Record operating income of $946 million, increasing 21% over the prior year;
• GAAP EPS was $4.99 and pro forma EPS(1) was $4.45, representing 21% growth over the prior year.