Dorel Industries boasted a 54.9 percent sales increase in its recreational/leisure segment to $136 million for the first quarter of 2008. While some of the unit’s gain could be attributed to economically strapped Americans who returned to the mass market for buying bicycles, a large part was due to the inclusion of the results of the recently purchased Cannondale Bicycle Corp. for February and March.
Total revenues for the whole company were up by 22 percent to $556 million. Operating income doubled to $14.9 million. Net income climbed by 25.7 percent to $35.1 million
Higher margins for Cannondale bikes and for Sugoi clothing contributed 70 percent of the rise in the gross profit margin for the recreational/leisure business, which was 5.5 percentage points higher than in the same quarter last year at 24.9 percent. The improvement took place in spite of higher costs for steel and other products.
