The fitness segment of Brunswick Corporation, which handles Life Fitness and Hammer Strength equipment, had a 9 percent increase in turnover to $137.7 million for the third quarter ended Oct. 2. The company credited higher sales, lower material costs and increased fixed-cost expansion.
Sales outside the U.S. rose by 10 percent and made up 56 percent of the division’s total sales. Operating earnings grew by 36 percent to $17.0 million.
The fitness unit was bolstered by a rise in global commercial equipment sales, though consumer equipment in the U.S. was on the decline.
At Brunswick’s bowling and billiards division, sales fell by 4 percent to $74.6 million. Over a quarter of the turnover, 26 percent, come from outside the U.S., and those sales grew by 1 percent in the quarter. Operating earnings were at break-even, an improvement over the loss of $3.8 million last year.
