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Turnover falls for Warrington sportswear group

The UK arm of global sportswear brand Asics has reported an £8m fall in turnover.

The retailer and sports kit producer, which is based in Warrington, partly attributes the decline to the ending of its relationship with Sports Direct.

The retail group, which is headed by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, was viewed by Asics as a “significant” customer.

Asics specialises in running shoes and clothing, tennis and rugby kit, as well as a wide range of clothing, bags and outdoor equipment.

In its annual accounts for the period up to 31 December 2012, Asics listed UK sales of £58.2m, down from £66.3m.

It reported its operating profit down from £3.71m to £3.54m, while pre-tax profit fell from £3.77m to £3.61m. Staffing levels increased from 104 to 120 during the period.

In the newly-published annual accounts, Asics says: “Turnover decreased by 12.2 per cent during the year primarily due to the discontinued trading with Sports Direct towards the end of 2011.

“Profit before tax decreased by 4.3 per cent due to the decrease in turnover but, due to tighter cost control, the full impact of the sales decrease did not affect profit before tax.”

In the Annual Report, Asics Corporation declared satisfaction with its overall performance, saying: “Despite an uncertain operating environment due to concerns about the debt crisis in Europe, and a slowdown in emerging markets, sales on a local currency basis rose in all of the group’s operating regions including Europe.

“The directors expect sales to be maintained at the current level or better for the foreseeable future with continued healthy profit figures.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .