LAKE FOREST, IL — International sales helped Brunswick Corp.'s fitness segment show some promising results for the first half of the year, according to financials released by Brunswick last month. The company's fitness segment is comprised of Life Fitness and Hammer Strength.
The fitness segment sales for second quarter 2010 increased by 17 percent compared to second quarter 2009.
“International sales were the primary contributor to the strong quarterly growth,” Dustan E. McCoy, chairman and CEO of Brunswick, said about the division in a conference call with analysts and shareholders. “We experienced year-over-year growth in revenues of 39 percent throughout our non-U.S. customer base.”
McCoy noted that the company had not anticipated such growth in this market. International sales comprise 54 percent of total segment sales in the quarter. Those sales increased by 39 percent. For the quarter, the fitness segment reported operating earnings of $8.7 million. This compares with operating earnings of $0.2 million in the second quarter of 2009. The higher operating earnings reflect higher sales, a more favorable product sales mix, lower material and freight costs, and other operating efficiencies, McCoy said.