Amer Sports: growth driven by outdoor products

By

Olivier Guyot

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Oct 20, 2016

The outdoor products segment was a crucial driver in the third quarter for Amer Sports, owner among others of Salomon, Atomic and Arc'teryx. In the period closed at the end of September, the Finnish group has recorded a revenue of nearly €737 million, equivalent to a 4% rise over the same period last year.

Looking at the regions, EMEA posted a 5% rise, up to nearly €335 million. America grew 1%, reaching close to €305 million. Finally, Asia-Pacific grew 6%, topping the €97 million mark, a result driven by the group's business activity in China.

Globally, it was outdoor products sales that sustained Amer Sports' growth. The segment grew in fact by 6% compared to last year, generating a revenue of nearly €506 million. Profitability figures improved significantly too, as EBIT rose from less than €93 million to over €105 million.

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On the other hand, the trend in the group's other segments was negative. The ball sports segment (tennis and baseball), with a revenue of €147 million, posted a -1% result, notably due to the sale of several sports retailers in the USA. As for the fitness segment, whose sales are expected to recover in the year's last quarter, it lost 6%, closing with a revenue of €84 million.

These two segments also recorded a slump in EBIT, which for ball sports fell from €8.8 million to €5.3 million, while fitness closed at €5.4 million, compared to €9.1 million last year. Centralised services cost more to the group than before, up to €9.7 million compared to €7.3 million last year.

Altogether, the group's EBIT rose from €103.5 million to €106.5 million, adjusted to €104.1 million after excluding the costs for the restructuring announced in August 2016. The group declined to predict the fiscal year's final growth result, but revealed that it is still looking to achieve a revenue of €3.5 billion in 2020. And while Amer Sports previously planned for several acquisitions, it has now stated that its objective will be reached through organic growth only.