In terms of local currencies, quarterly sales increased by one percent in Amer’s Ball Sports division, led by Wilson, and by 9 percent in the Fitness division, led by Precor.
In reported euros, the Ball Sports segment grew by just 3 percent to €167.7 million in the fourth quarter. It rose by one percent on a currency-neutral basis, delivering a 19 percent lower operating profit of €11.2 million.
For the full financial year, Ball Sports sales were down at the same rate of 3 percent to €638.1 million, with tennis and golf together falling by 6 percent to €278.3 million and team sports declining by one percent. Excluding one-time items, the Ball Sports segment’ operating profit was off slightly to €44.8 million.
Ball Sports revenues declined by 6 percent in EMEA to €110.0 million for the year in reported terms. They fell by 2 percent in the Americas and by 7 percent in Asia-Pacific.
The Fitness segment saw quarterly revenues rise by 11 percent to €132.5 million, with a 9 percent increase in constant currencies, but here again, operating earnings fell by 15 percent to €10.6 million. For the year, sales inched up by one percent to €378.8 million in Fitness, but they declined by 4 percent in EMEA to €84.7 million. The segment’s adjusted Ebit fell by 41 percent to €11.9 million.
Amer’s financial statement excludes its cycling components operations, which consist of Mavic and Enve and are for sale. Excluding this segment, the group’s total revenues rose by 11 percent to €874.2 million in the fourth quarter, with a 10 percent rise in local currencies, but this was partly due to the takeover of Peak Performance. Organically, group revenues were up by 5 percent.
For the full year, Amer reported a 4 percent increase in total revenues to €2,678.2 million, with growth of 7 percent in local currencies.
The group’s operating profit declined by 10 percent to €83.8 million in the fourth quarter, but it was off by only one percent before extraordinary items. The quarterly net income dipped by one percent to €51.0 million.
For the whole financial year, Amer reported an improvement in the gross margin of 0.5 percentage points to 45.6 percent. The operating margin increased by 0.3 percentage points to 8.6 percent. The group’s net income went up by 33 percent to €124.9 million for the year.
The acquisition of Peak Performance last June increased the group’s net indebtedness ratio to 2.49 times Ebitda before extraordinary items from 1.64 times at the end of the previous year.
Amer says it makes 24 percent of its products in-house and 12 percent at hybrid factories.
Looking at 2018, Amer simply says it expects sales and operating profits to continue to rise.
