Amer Sports Q3 profit falls 12 percent

By MATTI HUUHTANEN

posted: 27 DAYS 12 HOURS AGO

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HELSINKI -Sports equipment maker Amer Sports Corp., whose brands include Atomic, Salomon and Wilson, said Thursday that third-quarter net profit fell 12 percent mainly because of weak sales in North America.

Net profit of euro28.8 million ($42.6 million) compared with euro33 million a year earlier, the Finland-based company said. Revenue also fell in the July to September period, by 5 percent to euro410.6 million, from euro433 million in 2008.

The company gave a weak outlook and said it will continue cost-cutting measures.

"We do not anticipate a quick recovery of the sporting goods market, even if trading conditions would start to improve next year," CEO Roger Talermo said. "Hence, we will continue to focus on strict cost control and we are planning to take our cost base further down in order to protect the Amer Sports bottom line."

The company's share price was up almost 1 percent at at euro5.53 ($8.18) in late trading in Helsinki.

Amer Sports said net sales in winter equipment — its strongest sector — were down 7 percent in the quarter at euro120 million but that it expected an improvement because of cost cuts. However, it added that the measures would be "more than offset by weakness in other Amer Sports businesses."

Sales in America, which account for 40 percent of the company's market, fell 12 percent in the quarter.

The company said its outlook for the full year remained unchanged and that it expects a worse result than in 2008.

The last two quarters of the year are normally the strongest for Amer as winter sports equipment traditionally is sold before the winter, but it said that pre-orders for the 2009-2010 season were at last year's levels.

Formerly Finland's largest cigarette maker, Amer sold its tobacco operations in 2004 to focus on fitness and sports equipment. It has divested noncore assets and bought several sports equipment makers, including California-based Fitness Products International and Sparks, Nevada-based ATEC, a leading maker of baseball and softball pitching machines.

Based in Helsinki, Amer Sports employs 6,500 people — up from 6,300 a year earlier. The increase was mainly due to the acquisition of a Bulgarian production unit.

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On the Net:

Amer: http://www.amersports.com

2009-10-29 12:03:29