shares of johnson outdoors inc jumped friday after the outdoor recreational equipment manufacturer grew fourthquarter sales as supplychain issues eased for the three months ended sept 30 the company posted sales of 1964 million up 18 from the prioryear period driven by a 38 jump in fishing sales the companys largest segment profit rose to 95 cents a share from 68 cents a share in the same period a year earlier the company makes a variety of fishing products including trolling motors marine battery chargers shallow water anchors and gps equipment for fishfinding navigation and marine cartography the company also makes camping recreational watercraft and diving equipment for the full fiscal 2022 year profit fell by nearly half from the previous year to 437 a share citing surging materials costs gross margin for fiscal 2022 was 365 compared with 445 in fiscal 2021 we saw some relative improvement in our costs in the fourth quarter but we expect margins to continue to be impacted by inflationary pricing conditions chief financial officer david johnson said on a conference call with analysts supplyavailability issues also showed signs of easing in the fourth quarter chief executive helen johnsonleipold said ms johnsonleipold said the company ended the fiscal year with strong orders inventories surged from the previous year by more than 49 to 2486 million in fiscal 2022 mr johnson said the company has been building its inventory for several quarters to help mitigate supply chain disruptions and meet increased demand for our products shares of the racine wis company rose 22 to 7032 on friday the stock is down 25 this year write to will feuer at willfeuerwsjcom