Precor, Woodinville, Washington, reported a 1 percent increase in 2018 net sales to €378.8 million ($426.74 million) and an 11 percent increase in fourth quarter net sales to €132.5 million ($149.27 million), according to financials released by Amer Sports, the Finland-based parent company of Precor.
In local currencies, these represent increases of 9 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
The report attributes the increases to strong sales in the budget club customer segment, primarily referencing the two-year, $30 million vendor agreement Precor recently signed with Planet Fitness.
In October 2018, Amer Sports President and CEO Heikki Takala said he anticipated the partnership with Planet Fitness would boost the brand's business by the end of the year.
"[W]e have good new customers, big new customers, and...we expect to be able to ship to them for the first time in Q4, and we still believe the year is going to be a solid year of growth in fitness," Takala said.
Takala's prediction was accurate, as the fourth quarter was Precor's most successful quarter in 2018 by a difference of €44.5 million ($50.13 million). [Precor reported €88 million ($100.47 million) in its third quarter earnings.]
€31.3 million ($35.26 million) of Precor's fourth quarter sales was in Europe, while €81.7 million ($92.04 million) was in the Americas and €19.5 million ($21.97 million) was in the company's Asia Pacific market. These figures represent increases of 5 percent, 13 percent and 14 percent, respectively.