Descente, the Japanese sportswear company, saw sales in its financial year ended March 31 increase by 12.4 percent to 108,892 million yen (€815.1m), despite the fourth quarter being marked by new Covid-19 lockdowns in China and sluggish apparel sales due to the warm winter in South Korea. Sales of athletic wear were up by 7.7 percent to ¥65,100 million (€487.4m), as the company highlighted the strength of its Descente and Arena brands. Golf wear sales increased by 21.0 percent to ¥34,383 million (€257.6m), led by a 31.7 percent gain in Japan.
On a geographical basis, Descente’s sales in its domestic market grew by 8.6 percent to ¥51,133 million (€383.1m), while they went up by 16.4 percent to ¥53,726 million (€402.5m) in South Korea. In China, sales expanded by 18.7 percent to ¥4,032 million (€30.2m).
The company’s operating income amounted to ¥5,138 million (€38.5m) against a ¥1,806 million loss the year earlier, while net profit improved by 23.6 percent to ¥6,239 million (€46.7m).
For the financial year ending March 31, 2023, Descente is targeting sales inching up by 4.7 percent to ¥114,000 million (€853.9m), while operating income is seen growing by 16.8 percent to ¥6,000 million (€44.9m) and net profit increasing by 12.4 percent to ¥7,000 million (€52.4m).
