Easton-Bell Sports Inc. reported a sharp decrease in adjusted earnings before taxes in its fiscal fourth quarter, largely due to a winter season that didn’t meet company expectations. The Van Nuys firm, which designs sports equipment and accessories, reported an EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, decrease of $17 million, or about 69 percent. Easton-Bell reported net sales of $183.5 million for the quarter ended Dec. 29, a drop of more than 11 percent from $207 million in 2011. In addition, the company reported net sales decreased $11.5 million, or about 10 percent, in the Team Sports category and $12.2 million, or about 14 percent, in Actions Sports. “Easton-Bell had a difficult fourth quarter due to challenging market conditions and certain external events such as disappointing weather during the snow season, which resulted in declines that offset our growth during the first nine months of the year,” said Chief Executive Terry Lee in a statement. The earnings come less than two months after a change in leadership at the company. Lee, who has been a member of the board of directors since 2000, replaced Paul Harrington as chief executive in February. For the year, the company reported a net loss of $3.4 million, compared to a net income of about $10 million in 2011. Much of that disparity comes from an $18.5 million increase in selling, general and administrative costs. Net sales for the year at Easton-Bell decreased less than 1 percent, to $827 million from $835 million in fiscal 2011.
