Descente has reported a 16.3 percent sales increase to 23.4 billion yen (€171.26m-$224.91m) for the first fiscal quarter of its financial year, ended on June 30, with a big increase in Athletic Wear offsetting slight declines in the Golf and Outdoor segments.  Strong performance by Arena swimwear helped to lift sales of Athletic Wear by 24.7 percent to ¥16.4 billion (€120.03m-$157.63), but the Japanese company's sales of Le Coq Sportif and Umbro products were flat and those of Descente apparel went down. Outdoor sales dropped by 0.1 percent to ¥1.08 billion (€7.90m-$10.38), with flat revenues for Marmot and a strong increase for the Descente brand in Korea.  Outdoor sales remained strong in China and Hong Kong. Geographically, the company's sales declined by 8.4 percent in Japan but jumped by 41.7 percent to ¥14.0 billion in the rest of Asia. The gross margin improved to by 2.20 percentage points to 55.5 percent and the company ended with a net profit of ¥63 million (€0.46m-$0.61m) in the quarter against a loss of ¥22 million in the year-ago period.

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