Columbia Sportswear Company has reported an improvement in its losses as sales grew amid a soft US market during the second quarter.

For the three months ended June 30, net sales increased 6 per cent to $605.2 million, with higher wholesale orders partially offset by a decline in direct-to-consumer sales.

The company continued to record growth in most of its international markets, which was offset by the underlying weakness in the US market.

On the bottom line, operating losses decreased from $23.8 million in the year-ago period to $23.6 million, and net loss went down from $11.7 million to $10.2 million.

For the first half, net sales rose 3 per cent to $1.383 billion and net income grew 5 per cent to $32.1 million.

“Second quarter and first half financial results reflect sustained momentum in our international markets,” commented president and CEO Tim Boyle.

“While business trends in our US business remain soft, we continue to take steps to re-energise the Columbia brand through our Accelerate growth strategy.”

Accelerate is a multi-year effort centred around consumer-centric shifts, product and marketplace strategies, and enhanced ways of working, according to the company.

Columbia expects net sales to fall 1-3 per cent in the third quarter and range from a 1 per cent decrease to a 1 per cent increase for the full year.

“The apparel and footwear industry is facing increasing tariffs, on top of already high existing duties,” Boyle added. “In this period of global trade policy uncertainty, we continue to take actions to mitigate the financial and operational impacts to our business.”