Amer Group PLC's interim report January - March 2004
2004-04-28, 13:05
| Strong first quarter for Amer Group | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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- In the period January - March 2004, Amer Group's net sales grew by 4% and were EUR 293.4 million (January - March 2003: EUR 281.2 million).
- In local currencies, net sales grew by 14%. - Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) amounted to EUR 46.7 million (2003: EUR 20.6 million) and earnings per share were EUR 1.30 (2003: EUR 0.56). - Exiting from the tobacco business improved EBIT by EUR 18.0 million. - Amer Group's sports equipment business's net sales and EBIT in local currencies are expected to be higher this year than in 2003 (excluding the 2003 patent litigation settlement).
*) 12 months rolling average
Roger Talermo, President & CEO, Amer Group: "Amer Group's net sales grew by 4% in the first quarter. Net sales in local currencies grew by 14%.
During the last quarter of 2003, there were some signs of a strengthening in demand for sports equipment, and this year activity has started more positively in the sports equipment market than was the case last year.
The reorganization of Wilson's US businesses which started in April 2003 has continued in line with plan. The Golf Division which was loss making in 2003 performed better than expected in January - March. Due to the seasonality of the golf market, the second quarter is critical to golf sales for the year as a whole, and only after that can we estimate accurately how we have succeeded in the steps taken to rehabilitate the golf business. Our primary goal for the Golf Division in 2004 is to be profitable.
A historical milestone during the period was the withdrawal from the tobacco business. Amer Group is now a pure sports equipment company focusing on achieving its goal of becoming the world leader in its field.
Amer Group had a particularly strong first quarter. The sales figures for January - March 2004 compared to 2003 have however been boosted by earlier deliveries. We expect that, excluding the 2003 patent litigation settlement, Amer Group's sports equipment business's net sales and EBIT in local currencies will be higher this year than in 2003." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||