Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) Revenue to Increase Over 20% in Q4

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) should report a good quarter coming up, where revenues could grow by 23 percent, according to Barclays, who also notes their margins will be under some pressure in the quarter.

Barclays says, "Columbia Sportswear reports fourth quarter earnings on Thursday, January 27, after the market close. We remain comfortable with our 4Q10 EPS estimate of $0.65, which is $0.01 above consensus.

"We are expecting revenues to increase 23% in the quarter to $441 million as we believe that the outerwear businesses in the U.S. and Europe performed well due to favorable weather conditions and solid results from the company's new Omni-Heat line...Columbia's footwear lines were likely a significant driver of top-line growth in the fourth quarter"

"In the fourth quarter, we believe gross margin will contract 65 basis points to 41.4% due to pressures from incremental costs to expedite delivery of Fall 2010 orders. In addition, we expect the SG&A rate will increase due to retail expansion, increased marketing investments, and other factors, putting pressure on operating margin in the near term. However, we believe that lean inventories with clean channels position the company well heading in 2011."

Barclays maintains an "Overweight" rating on Columbia Sportswear (COLM), Which closed Monday at $60.79, gaining $1.24, or 2.08 percent. Barclays has a price target of $71 on Columbia.