Slow Sales in North America Hurt Precor

HELSINKI, FINLAND -- Amer Sports, the Finnish parent company of Precor, had net sales of $441 million, a 14 percent decrease from the same period last year, according to a release from the company. Net sales for the fitness equipment division of the company decreased 17 percent.

Roger Talermo, CEO of Amer Sports, said that challenging market conditions in North America caused much of the decrease. Precor usually does 72 percent of its sales in North America, the company said.

“The weak North American economic environment had the biggest impact on our fitness segment,” Talermo said. “The commercial category is performing well, but the demand for consumer products has dropped significantly. We are adapting Precor's operations and adjusting its cost base to correspond with declining sales. These changes will have a positive impact on Precor's profitability during the second half of the current year.”

Talermo added, “As a consequence of the more difficult macro-economic environment, we believe that our full-year earnings growth will be slower than we anticipated at the start of the year.”