Mild weather led to nearly stagnant sales of 520 million Swedish kronor (€56.7m-$64.0m) in the first quarter for the sports and leisure division of the New Wave group, which includes the Craft, Seger, Cutter & Buck and Ahead brands, and the distribution of Speedo in Scandinavia, among other brands and activities. The division reached sales of SEK 523 million for the same three months last year. The Swedish company points to positive development in the promotional market, while the trend is negative in the retail market. The sports and leisure division saw its sales decline in Sweden and other Nordic countries, while they were up in some other European countries. Torsten Jansson, New Wave's chief executive, points out that Craft is preparing to launch teamwear for football, floorball and handball, which should fuel growth later this year. The sport and leisure division's operating profit (Ebitda) amounted to SEK 22.0 million (€2.4m-$2.7m), down from SEK 24.6 million. As sales were stagnant in the gifts and home furnishings division but on the rise in the corporate promo division, the entire New Wave Group raised its sales by 3 percent for the first quarter to SEK 1,131 million (€123.3m-$139.1m), with an increase of 4 percent in constant currencies. The group's gross margin was just 0.2 percentage points below the prior level at 45.5 percent, and operating profit was up by SEK 6.3 million to SEK 8.1 million (€0.88m-$1.00m), as the prior-year period included one-off costs related to currency exchange rates. Jansson described the performance as satisfactory but added that New Wave had projected “a few million more.” The group ended the quarter with a net loss of SEK 20.1 million, down from a profit of SEK 90.8 million, as the prior-year period included SEK 101.5 million of translation differences.

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