Fitness financials: Iconix to form European subsidiary, plus Amer Sports, Finish Line

Iconix to form European subsidiary

Iconix Brand Group (Nasdaq: ICON) said it has partnered with The Licensing Company to further develop and expand the Iconix portfolio of brands in Europe through a newly formed subsidiary, Iconix Europe LLC.

Fitness EM licenses the Danskin brand name for fitness equipment from Iconix’s property, Triumph, formerly known as Danskin.

As part of the transaction, an investment group led by TLC and Albion Equity Partners LLP acquired a 50 percent interest in Iconix Europe in exchange for $4 million and Iconix retained a 50 percent interest, along with a right entitling it to the first $6 million of distributions. Distributions above $6 million will be split 50/50 between the parties.

The company said the business model of Iconix Europe will be similar to the Iconix strategy of signing traditional and direct-to-retail licensing agreements for the Iconix portfolio of brands. There are 11 existing licensing agreements in the region.

As a result, Iconix said it now expects to record a pre-tax gain of $5 million to $7 million related to this transaction. Inclusive of this transaction and the Ecko acquisition, the company anticipates 2009 revenue to be $227 million to $231 million from its previous estimate of $215 million to $220 million.

Amer Sports names new CEO

Amer Sports, parent of Precor, has appointed Heikki Takala as the company’s president and CEO, effective April 1, 2010.

The company said Roger Talermo, who was president and CEO, will continue in a “special role” assigned by Amer Sports board of directors until June 21, 2010, after which he will resign from the company.

In the meantime, Pekka Paalanne, executive vice president and deputy to the president and CEO, has been appointed as acting president and CEO until March 31, 2010.

Takala, 43, is currently working at Procter & Gamble as commercial director of Procter & Gamble Salon Professional Global Commercial Operations. He has been at the company for 17 years in several line management positions in region and product line organizations.

Q3 profit rises for Finish Line

Finish Line (Nasdaq: FINL) posted better-than-expected quarterly results boosted by higher sales and a tight rein on inventories. The company noted that it has cut inventory and costs to offset the weak consumer sales.

Third-quarter net profit was $6.5 million, or $0.12 per share, from a year-ago net loss of $6.5 million, or a loss of $0.12 per share.

Revenue dropped 0.2 percent to $240.1 million compared to $240.6 million a year ago.

Comparable store net sales increased 1.7 percent in the third quarter compared to a 3.3 percent comparable store net sales decline the prior year.

–Compiled by Wendy Geister

For more information about any public company on this page or its financial reports, as well as to view stock prices updated every 15 minutes, visit the SNEWS® Stock Market Updates. Click on: www.outsidebusinessjournal.com/cgi-bin/snews/stock_report.html.