You are given a text that consists of multiple sentences. Your task is to perform abstractive summarization on this text. Use your understanding of the content to express the main ideas and crucial details in a shorter, coherent, and natural sounding text. 
Text: I'm Patrick Burke, the company's head of investor relations.
Finally, earlier today, we experienced a power outage, but we've been assured by the local power company that there will be no further outages.
But we do have a backup plan to restart the call just in case we get interrupted.
It's great to be with you today to discuss our 2020 full year and Q4 results, as well as to provide some color on the business going forward.
Looking back on 2020, I have to start with a simple wow, what an interesting and eventful year.
We started with business as usual.
Survived an unforeseen global shutdown working our way through in a manner that is sure we came through in a position of strength.
Then as the world opened back up, we emerged to find Golf experiencing record demand and participation levels.
Finally, we finish the year announcing a transformational merger with Topgolf, signing Jon Rahm, and delivering on some key strategic initiatives.
And now looking forward all things considered we could not feel more fortunate or be happier about where our business is and our future prospects.
With that said, we're also mindful that many people have been significantly, negatively impacted by COVID-19, and our thoughts and prayers go out to them and their families.
Looking at Q4 in isolation.
The operating results in our golf equipment segment continued the strong momentum shown in Q3, while the apparel business returned to growth and showed great signs for the future.
On the Topgolf side, we continue to make progress on the merger front with our shareholder vote scheduled for March 3, and hopefully closing shortly thereafter.
All the while, setting us up for transformational change and growth.
Like me, I'm sure our team realizes that we have a lot more opportunity in front of us and remains highly motivated.
Let's not turn to Page 6 and jump into our Q4 results.
We were pleased with our results in virtually all markets and business segments.
Our golf equipment segment continued to experience unprecedented demand globally as interest in the sport and participation have surged.
According to Golf Datatech, U.S. retail sales of golf equipment specifically hard goods were up 59% during Q4, the highest Q4 ever on record.
Results that followed the highest Q3 on record as well.
rounds were up 41% in Q4.
And despite the shutdowns earlier in the year delivered 14% growth for the full year.
We continue to believe there will be a long-term benefit from the increased participation as we are welcoming both new entrants and returning golfers back to our sport.
Golf retail outside of resort location remains very strong at present, while inventory at golf retail remains at all-time lows, it is likely these low inventory levels will continue at least through Q1.
Callaway's global hardwoods market shares remain strong during the quarter.
We estimate our U.S. market share across all channels grew slightly during both Q4 and for the full-year 2020.
Our share in Japan was also up slightly for the full-year allowing us to finish 2020 as the No.
1 hardwoods brand in that market.
This is the first time that a non -Japanese brand has ever finished No.
1 for the full year in total hardwoods.
Our full-year share in Europe was down slightly, but we still finished as the No.
1 hardwoods brand in this market as well.
On a global basis, I believe we remain the leading club company in terms of both market share and total revenues, and the No.
2 ball company in the U.S., third-party research showed our brand to be the No.
1 club brand in overall brand rating as well as the leader in innovation and technology.
Over the last several years, we have shown resilience with these important brand positions.
We had a good year on tour in 2020 finishing the year with the No.
1 putter and the No.
1 driver on global tours.
However, we didn't have as many wins or total brand exposure as we would have liked, as a result, we strengthened our tour position significantly during 2020 with the signing of Jon Rahm to a full equipment headwear and apparel deal.
The addition of Jon, along with Xander and Phil, and our ongoing strong complement of players across global men's and women's tours leaves us well-positioned in this important area of our business.
We've also started 2021 nicely with two wins already on the PGA Tour and a lot of exposure at all events.
On the product front, we're thrilled with our new 2021 lineup allowing us to focus on -- our focuses on our most premium brands those being our Epic drivers and Apex Irons.
For 2021, both brands are being supercharged with new technology, including a new speed frame version of our proprietary jailbreak technology in the woods, and a new version of the Apex line called DCB, which should broaden the appeal of this already highly popular line of Irons.
Reaction to the lineup has been outstanding both on tour and in the marketplace.
Turning to our soft goods and apparel segment, this portion of our business along with the apparel industry generally was of course more impacted by the pandemic during Q4.
However, the speed magnitude of the recovery also continued to exceed our expectations.
Looking at individual businesses in this segment starting with the Callaway apparel business in Asia.
In Japan, we had a good quarter and finish the year as the No.
1 golf apparel brand in that market based on market share.
In Korea, we plan to take back the Callaway Golf apparel brand that has been licensed to a third party for several years and launch our own apparel business in Korea during the second half of 2021.
We are investing in staffing and I.T. systems for this.
The team there is energized by this opportunity as this is something that they have been considering for several years now.
Turning TravisMatthew, this brand and business continue to impress.
Their brand momentum is extremely strong both in direct to consumer channels and at wholesale.
Given their success, we are increasingly confident this can be a large and highly profitable brand presenting us with an even bigger opportunity than we originally anticipated.
To enable this, we have been investing in their systems and supply chain infrastructure.
This investment phase will continue through 2021 and then taper off.
We are also investing in direct-to-consumer efforts both through the addition of new stores selectively taking advantage of some great opportunities and of course e-commerce.
We could not be more excited about this business overall.
Jack Wolfskin also had a strong quarter delivering year-over-year revenue growth.
The price even more importantly we cleared some key strategic and operational hurdles during the quarter.
In Europe, our new CEO, Global Jack Wolfskin, Richard Collier joined the team in December.
Richard joined us from Helley Hansen where he held the title Global Product Officer and served in that capacity as well as de facto Chief Operating Officer.
We're excited to have Richard on the team.
The reaction to Richard and the new CFO, André who joined us a few months earlier from my move.
We enter 2021 with a very strong leadership team fully in place.
Equally importantly, prior to the full Europe retail shut down in mid-December, the sell-through of our fall winter lineup was excellent in both Europe and in China.
This speaks to the strength of the brand in these key markets, improved channel management, and the strength of the product lineup.
Noting that in China, Q4 was the first quarter to showcase the local product design by a new team that was recruited in 2019.
The success of this new China for China product was a key strategic initiative for us.
Across the globe, but especially in their key markets of China and Europe, we believe the combination of strong leadership and sell through momentum bodes well for this brand as markets open up and recover.
Taking a step back and looking at the larger apparel and soft goods segment, for the last nine months the hero has certainly been e-com.
This is a channel that was significantly strengthened by investments we made prior to the pandemic as well as those continuing to this day.
These investments enabled our apparel business e-com to deliver 64% year-over-year growth in Q4.
E-com is now a significant portion of the channel mix of this segment and we are confident our expanding capabilities and strength here will bolster this business growth prospects and profitability going forward.
Post-COVID, we continue to expect our apparel soft goods segment to grow faster than our golf equipment business, and with that growth to deliver operating leverage enhanced profitability.
And although the pandemic delayed our efforts, we still believe we'll be able to deliver 15 million synergies in the segment over the coming years.
Like our company overall, this segment with its concentration in golf and outdoor appears to be well-positioned for both the months and years ahead both during the pandemic and after.
Our comments here will be limited given we have not closed the transaction yet.
But during late Q4 due to COVID restrictions, three of the U.S. venues were forced to shut as well as three of the U.K. venues.
However, despite these headwinds, Topgolf's overall results exceeded expectations in Q4.
This was driven primarily by strong walking sales.
venue in Portland, Oregon are closed, and COVID restrictions appear to be gradually even.
Despite 2021 starting out with more COVID restrictions than we expected, strong walk-in traffic is allowing this business to continue to perform at a level consistent with achieving our total venue full-year same venue sales target of 80% to 85% of 2019 levels.
Turning to new venue development.
Topgolf has opened two new domestic venues already this year; Lake Mary, Florida; and Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is on track to hit their new venue plan of eight new owned venues for this year.
On the international front, our third franchise location opened earlier this year in Dubai.
The sales have been getting strong reviews despite ongoing COVID complications in this market, and we expect this to be a flagship site for us internationally.
Looking forward, given the uncertainties of the COVID situation globally, we're not currently providing 2021 guidance.
We can however provide the following color.
The golf equipment sector is likely to be slightly impacted by COVID in Q1 with the majority of European markets in portions of Asia, Tokyo for instance, in some sort of locked down or retail constraint, and with some supply constraints based on both capacity limitations and logistics.
We are also experiencing higher operating costs associated with COVID.
Our container shipping costs alone are estimated to be up approximately 13 million for the full year as these processes have surged, but we do not see this as a long-term issue, just a short-term anomaly associated with the pandemic.
The demand situation is strong enough that we expect a very strong year in golf equipment despite these issues.
A little constrained in Q1 based on capacity and logistics with increasing opportunity catch up with demand in Q2.
Our soft goods and apparel segment continues to be more impacted by COVID.
The Europe shutdown is especially impactful for a business there certainly for Q1.
However, the key points of operating strategic progress we mentioned earlier along with the attractive long-term prospects of both golf and outdoor lifestyle apparel make me increasingly confident for this business post the COVID closures and their short-term impact.
Topgolf is performing consistent with the plan, new venue openings are on track and we are increasingly confident for this business overall.
We hope to close in early March, if this happens, we'll have a lot more say on this business starting on our next call.
We continue to see this as a transformational opportunity.
On the operating expense side and comparison 2019, which is the only meaningful comparison you're going to see some further investments in 2021.
These include investments in our growth infrastructure such as the Korea apparel business, increased tour presence, and direct to consumer resources.
We have a track record for making this kind of internal investments, and we're confident these will deliver high returns for shareholders.
Lastly, we remain confident in the 2022 guidance we provide as part of the topped up merger process as well as the future potential of what is going to be a unique and powerful business.
Brian, over to you.
As Chip mentioned, 2020 was quite a year.
We were pleasantly surprised with how quickly our golf business and the golf industry began recovering from COVID-19 once the governmental restrictions began to abate during the second quarter.
We were also pleased with the recovery of both our TravisMatthew and Jack Wolfskin businesses, while the recovery in those businesses will not be as quick as the golf equipment business through the long supply chain lead times and seasonality.
The recovery of our apparel businesses is pacing ahead of our expectations and that of comparable businesses.
The stronger than expected recovery has contributed to our significantly improved liquidity position.
Our available liquidity, which includes cash on hand plus availability under our credit facilities increased to $632 million on December 31, 2020, compared to $303 million on December 31, 2019.
In addition to the core business recovery, we may also -- we also remain very excited about our prospective merger with Topgolf, which clearly will be transformational for Callaway.
The Topgolf shareholders have already approved the transaction, we are holding a special Callaway shareholder meeting on March 3, 2021, to approve the merger.
We would expect to close the merger shortly thereafter.
We evaluate -- evaluating our results for the fourth quarter and full year, you should keep in mind some specific factors that affect the year-over-year comparisons; First, as a result of the Jack Wolfskin acquisition in January 2019, we incurred non-recurring transaction and transition-related expenses in 2019; Second, as a result of the OGIO TravisMatthew and Jack Wolfskin acquisitions, we incurred non-cash amortization in purchase accounting adjustments in 2020 and 2019, including the Jack Wolfskin inventory step up in the first quarter of 2019; Third, we also incurred other non-recurring charges including costs related to the transition to our North American distribution center in Texas.
Implementation costs related to the new Jack Wolfskin IP system, severance costs related to our COVID-19 cost reduction initiatives, and costs related to the proposed Topgolf merger; Fourth, the $174 million non-cash impairment charge in the second quarter of 2020 is non-recurring and did not affect 2019 results.
Thus, we incurred and will continue to incur non-cash amortization of the debt discount in the notes issued during the second quarter of 2020.
With those factors in mind, we'll now provide some specific financial results.
Turning now to Slide 11.
Today, we were reporting record consolidated fourth quarter 2020 net sales of $375 million, compared to $312 million for the same period in 2019, an increase of $63 million or 20.1%.
This increase was driven by a 40% increase in the golf equipment segment resulting from the high demand for golf products late into the year as well as the strength of the company's product offerings across all skill levels.
The company soft goods segment continued its faster than expected recovery with fourth-quarter 2020 sales increasing 1% versus the same period 2019.
Changes in foreign currency rates had a $9 million favorable impact on fourth-quarter 2020 net sales.
The gross margin was 37.1% in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to 41.7% in the fourth quarter of 2021, a decrease of 460-basis-points.
On a non-GAAP basis, the gross margin was 37.2% in the fourth quarter, compared to 42.4% in the fourth quarter of 2019, a decrease of 520-basis-points.
The decrease is primarily attributable to the company's proactive inventory reduction initiatives in the soft goods segment, increased operational cost due to COVID-19, increased freight costs -- freight costs associated with higher rates, and a higher mix of air shipments in order to meet demand.
These decreases were partially offset by favorable changes in foreign currency exchange rates and a favorable mix created by an increase in the company's e-commerce sales.
Operating expenses were $171 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, which is an $18 million increase, compared to $153 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Non-GAAP operating expenses for the fourth quarter were $152 million, a $14 million increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.
This increase was driven by the company's decision to pay back to employees other than executive officers to reduce our salary levels for a portion of the year, variable expenses related to the higher revenues in the quarter, continued investments in our new businesses, and an unfavorable change in foreign currency exchange rates.
Other expenses were $15 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to other expense of $9 million in the same period the prior year.
On a non-GAAP basis, other expenses with $13 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to $9 million for the comparable period in 2019.
The $4 million increase in other expenses primarily related to a net decrease in foreign currency-related gains as well as interest expense related to our convertible notes.
Pre-tax loss was $48 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to a pre-tax loss of $32 million for the same period in 2019.
Non-GAAP pre-tax loss was $35 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to a non-GAAP pre-tax loss of $25 million in the same period of 2019.
Loss per share was $0.43, or 94.2 million shares in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to a loss per share of $0.31 on 94.2 million shares in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Non-GAAP loss per share was $0.33 in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to a loss per share of $0.26 for the fourth quarter of 2019.
Adjusted EBITDA was negative 12 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to negative 6 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Turning now to Slide 12.
Net sales for full-year 2020 were $1.589 billion, compared to $1.701 billion in 2019, a decrease of $112 million or 6.6%.
All things considered, we were very pleased with the sales level given the global pandemic.
The decrease in net sales reflects a decrease in our soft good segment, which decreased 15.9%t and our golf equipment segment increased slightly year over year.
Changes in foreign currency rates positively impacted 2020 net sales by $11 million versus 2019.
The gross margin for full-year 2020 was 41.4%, compared to 45.1% in 2019, a decrease of 370-basis-points.
Gross margins in 2020 were negatively impacted by the North American warehouse consolidation, and in 2019 were negatively impacted by a non-recurring purchase price inventory step-up associated Jack Wolfskin acquisition.
on a non-GAAP basis, which is good and they were not referring item, gross margin was 41.8% in 2020, compared to 45.8% in 2019, a decrease of 400-basis-points.
The decrease in non-GAAP gross margin is primarily attributable to the decrease in sales related to the COVID-19 pandemic, costs associated with all facilities during the governor -- government mandated shutdown, the company's inventory reduction initiatives, and increased freight expense in the back half of the year.
The decrease in gross margin was partially offset by favorable changes in currency exchange rates and an increase in the company's e-commerce business.
Operating expense with $763 million in 2020, which is a $129 million increase compared to $634 million in 2019.
This increase is due to the $174 million of the non-cash impairment charge, related to the Jack Wolfskin goodwill and trading, excluding the impairment charge and other items previously mentioned, non-GAAP operating expenses for 2020 were $570 million, a $47 million decrease, compared to $670 million in 2019.
This decrease is due to our cost reduction initiatives, decreased travel and entertainment expenses, lower variable expenses due to the lower sales, and reduced spending in marketing tour golf events around the world was canceled.
The decrease was partially offset by continued investment in our new businesses and unfavorable impacts of foreign exchange rates.
Another expense was approximately $22 million in 2020, compared to other expense of $37 million in 2019.
On a non-GAAP basis, other expenses $15 million for 2020, compared to $33 million for 2019.
Those $18 million improvements are primarily related to a $19 million increase in foreign currency-related gains period over a period, including the $11 million gain related to the settlement of the cross-currency swap arrangement.
Pre-tax loss of $127 million in 2020, compared to pre-tax income of $96 million in 2019.
Excluding the impairment charge in the other non-GAAP items previously mentioned, non-GAAP pre-tax income was $79 million in 2020, compared to non-GAAP pre-tax income of $130 million in 2019.
Loss per share was $1.35, or 94.2 million shares in 2020, compared to fully diluted earnings per share of $0.82, or 96.3 million shares in 2019.
Excluding the impairment charge in the other non-GAAP item previously mentioned, non-GAAP full-year earnings per share were $0.67 in 2020, compared to fairly good earnings per share of $1.10 for 2019.
Adjusted EBITDA was $165 million in 2020, compared to $210 million in 2019.
Turning now to Slide 13.
I will now cover certain key balance sheet and cash flow items.
As of December 31, 2020, available liquidity, which represents additional availability under our credit facilities plus cash on hand, was $632 million, compared to $303 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2019.
This additional liquidity reflects improved liquidity from working capital management, cost reductions, and proceeds from the convertible notes we issued during the second quarter.
We had total net debt of $406 million, including $442 million of principal outstanding under our term loan B facility that was used to purchase Jack Wolfskin.
Our consolidated net accounts receivable was $138 million, a decrease of 1.4% compared to $140 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2019.
Days sales outstanding decreased to 45 days on December 31, 2020, compared to 53 days on December 31, 2019.
We continue to remain very comfortable with the overall quality of our accounts receivable at this time.
Also displayed on Slide 12, our inventory balance decreased by 22.8% to $353 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2020.
This decrease was primarily due to the high demand we are experiencing in the golf equipment business as well as inventory reduction efforts in our soft goods businesses.
The teams continue to be highly focused on inventory on hand as well as inventory in the field, both of which remain relatively very low at this time.
Capital expenditures for 2020 were $39 million, which is right in line with the range provided during our Q3 update.
This amount is down substantially from our $55 million of planned capital expenditures at the beginning of the year due to our cost reduction actions.
In 2021, we expect our capital expenditures to be approximately $50 million for the current Callaway business.
Depreciation and amortization expense was $214 million in 2020.
D&A expense excluding the $174 million impairment charge was $40 million in 2020, compared to $35 million in 2019.
In 2021, we expect non-GAAP depreciation and amortization expense to be approximately $45 million for the current Callaway business.
I am now on Slide 14.
We're not providing revenue and earnings guidance for 2021 at this time due to the continued uncertainty surrounding the duration and impact of COVID-19.
However, we would like to highlight certain factors that are expected to affect 2021 financial results compared to 2020.
On a premerger basis, which includes only Callaway golf business and does not take into account Topgolf's business following the proposed merger, consolidated net sales for the first quarter of 2021 will exceed 2020 net sales but will continue to be negatively impacted by COVID-19.
The company's soft goods business will continue to be impacted by the regulatory shutdown orders in Europe and Asia, which should then strengthen during the balance of the year as the regulatory restrictions subside.
The company's golf equipment business is expected to be impacted by temporary supply constraints caused by COVID-19 during the first quarter, which could affect the company's ability to fulfill all of the robust demand in its golf equipment business.
The company believes that there are opportunities for supply to catch up beginning in the second quarter.
On a premerger basis, the full-year 2021 non-GAAP gross margin will also be negatively impacted by increased operational costs due to COVID-19, including higher labor costs, logistical challenges as well as increased freight expense resulting from a shortage of ocean freight containers.
The freight container shortage alone is estimated to have a negative $13 million impact on freight costs in 2021, with the substantial majority of the impact occurring during the first half.
The company believes that its full-year 2020 gross margin will be approximately the same as in 2019 despite these gross margin headwinds, which should be offset by increased direct-to-consumer sales and foreign currency exchange rates.
On a premerger basis, full-year 2021 non-GAAP operating expenses are estimated to be approximately $70 million to $80 million higher compared to full-year 2019 non-GAAP operating expenses.
In addition to the negative impact of changes in foreign currency rates estimated to be approximately $20 million and inflationary pressures, the increased operating expenses generally reflect continued investment in the company's current business.
These investments include investment needed to assume the Korea apparel business, investment in the pro tour, and continued investment in the soft goods business, including the TravisMathew business related to opening new retail doors, investment in infrastructure and systems, and investments related to new market expansions for Jack Wolfskin in North America and Japan.
The company believes that these investments will continue to drive growth in sales and profit but expect to incur the expenses for these investments prior to receiving the associated benefit.
In 2020, the company realized gains from certain foreign currency hedges in the aggregate amount of approximately $25 million.
This gain is not expected to repeat in 2021.
In sum, the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on our business beginning in the first quarter of 2021.
After we absorb the initial -- after we absorb the initial shock of the impact of the pandemic, including the various governmental shutdown orders and restrictions, Chip challenged us to protect our business, avail ourselves of opportunities that arise during the pandemic, and take actions so that we not only survive the pandemic but also emerge in a position of relative strength.
Given the recovery in our core business, our prospective merger with Topgolf, and our increased liquidity, I believe we have done that.
We are cautiously optimistic as we enter 2021.
All of our business segments as well as the Topgolf business support an active, outdoor, healthy way of life.
It is compatible with the world of social distancing, and we believe this will continue to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.
We continue to believe that 2021 will be a stepping stone to more normal conditions in 2022, and the resulting transformational growth we have projected for 2022.
As Chip mentioned in his remarks, the primary focus of the Q&A should be with regard to the Callaway business as we are still pending shareholder approval on the merger.
Operator, over to you.

user
q4 non-gaap loss per share $0.33.
q4 loss per share $0.43.
q4 2020 consolidated net sales of $375 million.
anticipate covid-19 will continue to negatively impact business in 2021.

assistant