HELSINKI (BRAIN) — Amer Sports on Thursday reported a 10 percent increase in fourth-quarter sales, to 874.2 million euros ($992 million). Growth was strongest in apparel, up 41 percent following the acquisition of Swedish brand Peak Performance last spring, the company stated.
In an earnings release, Amer did not break out figures for its cycling business, which includes the Enve and Mavic brands. However, president and CEO Heikki Takala stated, "In Q4, we continued to prepare strategically for a more focused portfolio as we proceeded the Cycling sale process, and in the core business we continued to invest into future growth to ensure a strong pipeline of initiatives for 2019 and beyond."
Takala has previously stated that Amer's cycling business is underperforming, and that he was considering putting both Mavic and Enve up for sale.
In 2019, the company said it will focus on apparel and footwear and its consumer-direct business in the U.S. and China, Apparel became Amer's largest business in 2018, with softgoods accounting for 40 percent of the company's overall sales for the year, the company stated.
For full-year 2018, Amer reported a 7 percent jump in sales, to 2.68 billion euros,
Besides, Peak Performance, Mavic and Enve, Amer's brands include Arc'Teryx, Salomon, Atomic, Suunto, Wilson, Sport Tracker and U.S. baseball brands Louisville Slugger and DeMarini.
