Precor Net Sales Decrease 7 Percent in Q1 2018

Precor, Woodinville, Washington, reported an 7 percent decrease in first quarter 2018 net sales with a 4 percent increase in local currencies, according to financials released on April 26 by Amer Sports, the Finland-based parent company of Precor.

Precor generated €78.4 million ($93.89 million) in net sales during the quarter, versus €84.5 million ($101.1 million) during the first quarter of 2017.

Sixty-four percent of Precor's quarterly sales came from the Americas, 21 percent came from Europe and 15 percent came from Asia.

In Amer Sports' earnings report, Amer Sports President and CEO Heikki Takala attributed the local currencies increase to strong sales in North and South America. He also classified Precor's quarterly development as "very uneven," specifically regarding the local currencies increase.

"We don’t focus on quarters so much," he said. "We see that the full year is healthy, [the] top line remains dynamic, and we see that the sales and EBIT are biased [to] the second half of the year in fitness, as we get our operating model fully up and running. And as we now start to get the benefits from the investments into the pipeline, we’re now competing well for the orders and the proceeds in all of the relevant segments. We are now growing fast in the budget segment. We are also growing in the kind of traditional segments where we used to be strong. ... [S]o from that point of view it’s looking quite positive in this segment overall."

For the fiscal year 2018, Takala expects that net sales in local currencies will increase from 2017. Quarterly growth may remain "uneven" due to "ongoing wholesale market uncertainties," he said. The company is prioritizing sustainable, profitable growth for the year with a focus on direct-to-consumer sales and connected devices and services.

In February 2018, Precor reported a 3 percent increase in 2017 net sales and a 4 percent increase in 2017 fourth quarter sales.