Medway, MA — John Aglialoro, Cybex International chairman and CEO, has reason to be pleased. The company's net sales for the first quarter of 2008 beat analysts' expectations of $38.7 million, coming in instead at $39.8 million, the company announced last month. That was a 15 percent increase from the $34.7 million in the same period last year.

A 13 percent increase in cardio sales, an 18 percent increase in strength sales and a 6 percent increase in other revenues for the quarter drove the increased sales, according to Cybex.

Net income for the quarter was $1.3 million compared to net income of $1.1 million in the first quarter of last year.

“Current U.S. and world economic conditions likely will make our corporate goal of double-digit growth in sales and earnings more challenging in the short-term,” Aglialoro said in a statement from the company. “We will closely monitor sales activity and will respond quickly on the cost side if economic conditions produce a slowing of our rate of growth over the next several quarters. For the longer term, we remain confident that our pipeline of new products and our strategy of developing new markets will continue to be important drivers in promoting strong sales and earnings growth.”

The Medway, MA-based company will launch a new strength line and the next generation of the commercial Total Body Arc Trainer in late 2008. Cybex has a multi-gym in development along with two new commercial bike models that it will sell at moderate price points, Aglialoro says.

Not all was rosy, however. The company had gross margin declines of 160 basis points to 35.6 percent of sales. The gross margins fell because of higher warranty costs, a shift in the product mix by the company and higher costs to ship equipment, according to the company.

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