The ongoing crisis in Swiss retailing in general, and the difficult weather conditions last year in particular, had their impact on the results of Intersport PSC Holding, the Swiss licensee of Intersport, in the 2011-12 financial year ended Sept. 30. The group's revenues dropped sharply by 16.3 percent to 211.5 million Swiss francs (€175.2m-$232.0m), while its gross profit went down by 16.4 percent to CHF 12.9 million (€10.7m-$14.2m).
The operating margin (Ebit) turned around to a negative margin of 1.5 percent from a positive margin of 1.0 percent in the previous year. The net loss was CHF 3.4 million (€2.8m-$3.7m) compared with a profit of CHF 1.6 million.
As the main reasons for the softened sales, the company lists the late start of the last winter season and a decline in the number of tourists coming into the country. This was as much due to the strong Swiss franc compared with the euro as the changing habits of domestic consumers who leave the country to make a bargain in the Eurozone. This type of “shopping tourism” abroad has led, in effect, to decreasing price levels in Switzerland's sporting goods retail sector.
The slipping Ebit was partially due to the shrinking turnover and non-recurring items of CHF 0.9 million (€0.8m-$1.0m) for the restructuring of operations and the shutting down of the three stores that the company had opened last year under the low-priced Budget Sport banner.
For the current financial year, the Swiss Intersport expects an ongoing difficult market environment and stable sales under regular snow conditions during this winter. The group expects to be profitable again by the end of this financial year.
