Net sales for Precor, Woodinville, WA, were flat in first quarter 2012 at EUR59.7 million ($77.2 million) compared to first quarter 2011 when they were EUR56.6 million ($73.2 million), according to a financial statement released by Amer Sports, the Helsinki, Finland-based parent company of Precor.
Heikki Takala, president and CEO of Amer Sports, noted in a call with investors and analysts in late April that the fitness segment of the company improved on EBIT from EUR3.3 million ($4.3 million) in first quarter 2011 to EUR3.9 million ($5 million) in first quarter 2012.
“Remember, fitness’s role in the portfolio is to return to target profitability,” Takala said. “Net sales were stable, but EBIT continued its logical improvement now since quite some time back. So we are on the right track driven by higher gross margins and with somewhat higher operating expenses.”
He added that the company has a pipeline of new products hitting the market, including the adaptive motion trainer, which now has a longer stride length and open stride feature. The product has received encouraging feedback from the marketplace, he said.
The company also introduced version two of Preva and Preva Net, which allows users to access the Internet content while exercising.
In the strength area, Precor introduced Discover Strength, a line that was designed to look sleeker and less intimidating for people new to strength training.
For Amer Sports in general, Takala said the company had a solid start for the year with all business areas progressing towards their targets, with the exception of Winter Sports Equipment, which lagged due to a warmer winter than normal in most areas of the world.
Net sales for Amer Sports for the first quarter were EUR489.9 million ($633.8 million) compared to EUR449.1 million ($581 million) in first quarter 2011, which in local currencies was an increase of 7 percent.
(Conversions from Euros to dollars are based on exchange rates on May 9, 2012.)