European sales were down by 4.7 percent in the first nine months ended on Sept. 29, including a 15 percent dip in the third quarter, largely due to a difficult snow sports market. Sales of Giro snow sports products in the U.S. and Europe fell by 30 percent in the latest quarter, pushing down the group's action sports turnover.
In the end, the group's total sales in this segment declined by only 6.7 percent in dollars to $89.4 million, or by 6.5 percent in local currencies, as sales of cycling helmets improved, thanks to favorable weather conditions all over the world.
The team sports division grew by 6.2 percent in dollars to $123.9 million. Across the group, total sales inched up by 0.4 percent during the latest quarter, reaching $213.3 million. The gross margin improved to 35.7 percent through a reduction in manufacturing costs and higher sales of high-margin team sports products, but operating expenses increased and Easton-Bell ended up with net profit of $3.7 million, 21.8 percent less than in the same quarter a year ago.
