Columbia Sportswear increased its global net sales in the fourth quarter by 6 percent to $533.1 million, while net profits were down to $36.7 million from $39.5 million in the same period last year, largely due to a non-cash asset impairment charge of around $5.6 million. For the complete year, turnover improved a little from slightly to from 1.67 billion to $1.68 billion, while net income dropped to $94.3 million from $99.9 million in 2012. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), sales grew substantially by 11 percent to $68.6 million in the last quarter and by 4 percent to $240.7 million for the full financial year. For 2014, Columbia expects a sales increase of between 15 and 17 percent. Half of the increase is expected to stem from the new joint venture in China, which came into effect at the beginning of the year.