Amer Sports Financial Statements Bulletin 2018: Solid Q4 Closed Another Year Of Record Sales & Profits

Amer Sports Financial Statements Bulletin 2018:

Solid Q4 closed yet another year of record sales and profits

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2018 (continuing operations)*

• Net sales EUR 874.2 million (October-December 2017: 786.0). In local currencies, net sales +10%. Organic growth was 5%.
• EBIT excluding items affecting comparability (IAC) EUR 96.7 million (98.1). Items affecting comparability EUR -12.9 million (-5.4).
• Earnings per share excl. IAC EUR 0.53 (0.57). Earnings per share 0.44 (0.44).
• Free cash flow EUR 187.7 million (156.2).

JANUARY-DECEMBER 2018 (continuing operations)*

• Net sales EUR 2,678.2 million (2017: 2,574.6). In local currencies, net sales +7%. Organic growth was 4%.
• EBIT excl. IAC EUR 231.2 million (214.4), 8.6% of net sales (8.3). Items affecting comparability EUR -22.3 million (-44.9).
• Earnings per share excl. IAC EUR 1.23 (1.18). Earnings per share EUR 1.08 (0.80).
• Free cash flow EUR 34.9 million (161.3).
• Net debt/EBITDA excl. IAC 2.5 (December 31, 2017: 1.6).
• Due to the terms and conditions of the ongoing tender offer for all the shares in Amer Sports Corporation, the Board of Directors proposes that at this time no dividend shall be distributed to shareholders.

OUTLOOK FOR 2019

In 2019, Amer Sports’ net sales in local currencies as well as EBIT excl. IAC are expected to increase from 2018. The company will prioritize sustainable, profitable growth, focusing on its strategic priorities in Apparel and Footwear, Direct to Consumer, China, and USA, whilst continuing its consumer-led transformation.

HEIKKI TAKALA, PRESIDENT AND CEO:

We closed the year 2018 with a solid Q4. Topline was up 10% (organic +5%), driven by our strategic acceleration priorities and on-going transformation. Growth was strongest in Apparel (+41%), boosted by the acquisition of Peak Performance. D2C (+23%) and e-tail (+15%) were again the winning channels, and China (+16%) and USA (+10%) drove geographical growth. Fitness (+9%) had strong topline momentum but profitability requires further work. 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.

In 2018, we delivered again record sales and profits as we closed the ninth consecutive year of profitable growth and broad-based improvement. We continued to drive our strategic transformation. Apparel became our largest business area, and Softgoods now represents 40% of our sales. Modern channels (own D2C and e-tail) reached 30% of our sales, and China and USA now represent 45% of the company sales. In short, our strategies are delivering results with the vast majority of our businesses making good progress. I want to thank our organization for the strong contribution in 2018, looking forward to another good year of growth and improvement in 2019.

KEY FIGURES (continuing operations)*