Fitness financials: Life Time Fitness Q1 revenue up 6.5 percent, plus Sports Club, Sears, adidas, Accell Group

Life Time Fitness Q1 revenue up 6.5 percent

By reducing attrition and growing same-center revenue, Life Time Fitness (NYSE: LTM) said its first-quarter revenue rose 6.5 percent.

Revenue for the first quarter ended March 31 was $219.8 million, up from $206.4 million during the same period last year.

Net income during the quarter was $17.8 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, compared with $15.1 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, for Q1 2009.

Total operating expenses totaled $182.1 million compared to $173.9 million for Q1 2009. Operating margin was 17.1 percent, compared to 15.7 percent in the prior-year period.

EBITDA grew 10.6 percent to $60.7 million from $54.9 million in Q1 2009. As a percentage of total revenue, EBITDA was 27.6 percent in Q1 2010, compared to 26.6 percent in the prior-year period.

Looking ahead, revenue is expected to be $880 million to $895 million. It also anticipates net income to be between $76.5 million and $79.5 million, and diluted earnings per common share should be $1.88 to $1.96.

Sports Club Q1 sales down 6.4 percent

The Sports Club Company (Pink Sheets: SCYL) reported a 6.4-percent drop in first-quarter revenues.

For the quarter ended March 31, revenues were $13.1 million, compared to $14.0 million for the same period last year.

Its net loss attributable was $570,000, or $0.03 per share, compared to a net loss of $1.1 million, or $0.05 per share, last year.

Sears Holdings to buy Sears Canada shares

Sears Holdings (Nasdaq: SHLD) said it would buy an additional stake in Sears Canada Inc.

The company signed deals to buy about 18.7 million shares of Sears Canada, or about 17 percent of its outstanding stock, from Pershing Square, LP, Pershing Square II LP and Pershing Square International Ltd. for $30 per share.

Once the deal closes, Sears Holdings will own approximately 97.3 million Sears Canada shares, or 90.4 percent of the company, and Pershing Square will not hold any shares of Sears Canada.

Sears Holdings also provided a first-quarter profit outlook, saying its quarter-to-date sales at stores open at least a year are up 1.7 percent, with Kmart rising 3.2 percent and Sears domestic stores climbing 0.3 percent.

adidas hits 22-month high after surge in profit

Shares in adidas (XETRA: ADS.DE) hit a 22-month high after the company said its net profit surged to EUR 168 million (USD $224 million) in the first quarter and lifted its outlook for the year.

The company said the settlement of a lawsuit and the sale of a trademark both contributed a low-double-digit-million euro boost to the result. A year earlier the company reported a net profit of EUR 5 million (USD $6.6 million).

Shares in adidas rose 3.3 percent to $44.91 on April 23. It closed at $44.49 on a volume of 3.3 million. The stock is now up over 17 percent since the start of the year.

adidas said group revenue rose 4 percent to nearly EUR 2.7 billion (USD $3.6 billion) in the latest quarter, with stronger margins helping drive the improved earnings performance.

The company also lifted its full-year profit forecast to a range of EUR 2.05 to EUR 2.30 (USD $2.73 to $3.06) a share from a range of EUR 1.90 to EUR 2.15 (USD $2.53 to $2.86) a share, and said it will give more details on its revised outlook when it publishes full quarterly results on May 4.

(Conversion of Euros into U.S. dollars is for information only, is not necessarily relative to earnings, and is based on the currency rate as of April 23.)

Accell Group dividend proposal approved

During the annual general meeting of shareholders of Accell Group, a EUR 1.58 (USD $2.11) dividend proposal was approved. Shareholders have the option to receive the dividend in either cash or shares.

The company, parent of Bremshey and Tunturi, said the pay-out ratio comes to 48 percent, and the dividend yield to 5.4 percent, based on the year-end 2009 closing share price.

–Compiled by Wendy Geister

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