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Amer Sports Corporation Financial Statements Bulletin 2014
Amer Sports Corporation
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS BULLETIN
February 5, 2015 at 1:00 pm
Amer Sports Corporation Financial Statements Bulletin 2014
In 2015, Amer Sports net sales in local currencies is expected to increase and EBIT margin excluding non-recurring items to improve from 2014, despite challenging market conditions. The company will continue to focus on apparel and footwear growth, consumer-driven product and marketing innovation, commercial expansion and operational excellence.
We closed 2014 with a good fourth quarter, and we hereby delivered the 5 consecutive year of profitable growth with record sales and operating profit. The key drivers behind the improvement were our strategic acceleration areas: Apparel and Footwear, Business to Consumer, and China. We also continued to drive profitable growth in Fitness, Cycling and Sports Instruments. Encouragingly, the Ball Sports restructuring started to yield results with gross margins up, and operating expenses reduced and refocused to support the new strategic growth pillars.
Throughout 2014 the market conditions were challenging. We faced significant headwinds in Russia with adverse profit impact from the currency devaluation. We also faced an exceptionally late and mild winter in Europe, resulting in a sales decrease especially in cross-country skiing. Thanks to our flexible operating model in Winter Sports Equipment, we managed to mitigate the impact and sustained a satisfactory profitability.
Overall, we can be encouraged by our progress, as our strategies and execution are delivering results. We do expect the challenging market conditions to persist in 2015, with adverse impact from the late and mild winter and on-going risks in Russia. We accelerate in the areas which are working, whilst putting in place contingencies where we face challenges. With focus on improvement and renewal, we continue to execute with confidence.
Heikki Takala, President and CEO, tel. +358 20 712 2510
Jussi Siitonen, CFO, tel. +358 20 712 2511
Päivi Antola, Director, Corporate Communications and IR, tel. +358 20 712 2537
An English-language conference call for investors and analysts will be held today at 1:00 pm GMT. To participate, please call + 44(0)20 3427 1914 (UK/international dial-in number), confirmation code 8518181. The conference can also be followed live at www.amersports.com. A replay of the conference call and a transcript will be available later at the same internet address. The replay number is +44 (0)20 3427 0598, passcode 8518181 # .
Amer Sports' Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday, March 12, 2015 starting at 2 pm at Finlandia Hall, Congress Wing, Mannerheimintie 13 e, Helsinki, Finland.
Amer Sports will publish its Q1/2015 interim report on Thursday, April 23 at approximately 11:00 am GMT.
Copyright GlobeNewswire
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