Amer Sports Corporation Interim Report January-September 2016

Amer Sports Corporation                          
INTERIM REPORT
October 20, 2016 at 1:00 p.m.

Amer Sports Corporation Interim Report January-September 2016

JULY-SEPTEMBER 2016

• Net sales EUR 736.8 million (July-September 2015: 713.7). In local currencies, net sales increased by 4%. Organic growth was 4%. Growth was solid in EMEA and China, whilst the US market continued to be challenging.
• Gross margin 48.0% (47.0).
• EBIT excluding items affecting comparability (IAC) EUR 106.5 million (103.5). Items affecting comparability were EUR -2.4 million (0.0).
• Earnings per share excl. IAC EUR 0.62 (0.59). Earnings per share were EUR 0.60 (0.59).
• Free cash flow EUR -66.9 million (-92.2).
• Outlook for 2016 unchanged.

JANUARY-SEPTEMBER 2016

• Net sales EUR 1,849.7 million (January-September 2015: 1,750.7). In local currencies, net sales increased by 7%. Organic growth was 6%.
• Gross margin 46.9% (45.9).
• EBIT excluding items affecting comparability EUR 140.4 million (128.1). Items affecting comparability were EUR -8.7 million (-8.0).
• Earnings per share excl. IAC EUR 0.73 (0.63). Earnings per share were EUR 0.67 (0.58).
• Free cash flow EUR -88.4 million (-37.7).

OUTLOOK
In 2016, Amer Sports net sales in local currencies are expected to increase and EBIT margin excluding items affecting comparability to improve from 2015, despite challenging market conditions. The company will focus on growing the core business and accelerating in five prioritized areas: Apparel and Footwear, US, China, Business to Consumer, as well as digitally connected devices and services.

IMPACT OF NEW ESMA GUIDELINES
New ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority) guidelines on Alternative Performance Measures (APMs) are effective for the financial year 2016. Amer Sports presents APMs to reflect the underlying business performance and to enhance comparability between financial periods. APMs should not be considered as a substitute for measures of performance in accordance with the IFRS. As of Q1 2016, Amer Sports relabels the previously referenced “excluding non-recurring items” with “excluding items affecting comparability” (IAC). Operating segments’ EBIT is reported excluding IAC. Items affecting comparability and APMs used by Amer Sports are defined in note 10 of this report.

KEY FIGURES

*) EBITDA excl. IAC = EBIT excluding items affecting comparability and depreciation and amortization
**) Items affecting comparability are material items or transactions, which are relevant for understanding the financial performance of Amer Sports when comparing profit of the current period with previous periods. These items can include, but are not limited to, capital gains and losses, significant write-downs, provisions for planned restructuring and other items that are not related to normal business operations from Amer Sports’ management view. A single item affecting comparability has to represent more than one cent per share on annual basis.
***) Cash flow from operating activities – net capital expenditures – change in restricted cash (Net capital expenditures: Total capital expenditure less proceeds from sale of assets).

HEIKKI TAKALA, PRESIDENT AND CEO:
We delivered another quarter of solid improvement despite a challenging trading environment especially in the US following the retailer bankruptcies earlier in the year. The growth was driven by our strategic acceleration priorities, especially Apparel, Business to Consumer, China, and Connected Devices. In Winter Sports Equipment the quarter was good as deliveries peaked earlier compared to 2015. In Fitness we started to produce our new product ranges, but the topline impact is expected in Q4 and increasingly in H1 2017.

As announced in August, we focus on accelerating our organic growth with a robust pipeline of building blocks to reach EUR 3.5 billion sales by 2020. The market landscape is changing, and we will pace our growth accordingly. We are confident that our strategies are right, we stay the course and focus on executing with excellence and agility.    

For further information, please contact:
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   

TELEPHONE CONFERENCE
A conference call for investors and analysts will be held at 3:00 p.m. Finnish time. To participate, please call +44(0)20 3427 1906 or +49(0)69 2222 10619, confirmation code 9912166. The conference can also be followed live via www.amersports.com or http://edge.media-server.com/m/p/xry4o9k8. A replay of the conference call and a transcript will be available later at the same internet address. The replay numbers are +44(0)20 3427 0598 and +49(0)69 2222 2236, passcode 9912166.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS BULLETIN 2016
Amer Sports will publish its financial statements bulletin 2016 on Thursday, February 9, 2017 at approximately 1:00 p.m. Finnish time.

INVESTOR RELATIONS NEWSLETTER
Subscribe to Amer Sports Investor Relations Newsletter at www.amersports.com/investors/subscribe.

DISTRIBUTION
Nasdaq Helsinki, main media, www.amersports.com

AMER SPORTS
Amer Sports (www.amersports.com) is a sporting goods company with internationally recognized brands including Salomon, Wilson, Atomic, Arc’teryx, Mavic, Suunto, and Precor. The company’s technically advanced sports equipment, footwear, and apparel improve performance and increase the enjoyment of sports and outdoor activities. The Group’s business is balanced by its broad portfolio of sports and products and a presence in all major markets. Amer Sports shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchange (AMEAS).

• Amer Sports Interim Report Q3 2016