Fitness financials: McCoy replaces Buckley as Brunswick CEO, plus Life Time, Costco

McCoy replaces Buckley as Brunswick CEO
Dustan McCoy has assumed the helm of Brunswick Corp. (NYSE: BC) as chairman and CEO as George Buckley exits the company after five years to head up 3M. Brunswick’s fitness division includes Life Fitness, Hammer Strength and Parabody.

The 56-year-old McCoy has served as vice president of Brunswick and president of the Brunswick Boat Group since its formation in 2000. He joined Brunswick in 1999 as vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. Prior to joining Brunswick, McCoy served as executive vice president of Witco Corp. with operating responsibility for a variety of global businesses and functions.

Manuel Fernandez, Brunswick’s lead director, said, “Over the past five years, (McCoy) has nearly doubled the size of the boat group, acquired 13 boat brands and enhanced relationships with our dealer network. His background and operations experience make him uniquely qualified to take Brunswick to the next level.”

Brunswick also said it elected Lawrence A. Zimmerman, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Xerox Corp., to its board of directors.

Life Time’s shares dip after downgrade
Shares of Life Time Fitness (NYSE: LTM) dropped $2.88, or 7.2 percent, to $37.42 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Dec. 9 after Bank of America downgraded it, saying the stock looks fully valued. Despite the dip, Life Time’s stock is still up 49 percent since the year began. Bank of America downgraded Life Time to “neutral” from “buy,” saying the company’s stock price reflects the company’s future growth prospects. It said that while it believes Life Time is performing well, it thinks the current stock price recognizes this fact.

Costco net sales up 12 percent in Q1
Costco Wholesale (Nasdaq: COST) reported that its first-quarter earnings were $215.8 million, or $0.45 per share, up from $193.2 million, or $0.40 cents per share last year. The latest quarter included a charge of about $0.01 per share from damage due to Hurricane Wilma in Florida, while the prior year’s results included a $0.01 per share charge from four hurricanes in the state.

Its net sales for the quarter increased 12 percent to $12.66 billion from $11.34 billion last year, with sales up 9 percent at warehouses open at least one year. Total revenue, which includes membership fees, rose to $12.93 billion from $11.58 billion in the year-ago period.

Costco’s profit met analysts’ estimate of $0.45 per share, and was above expectations for $12.82 billion in revenue. The company did not provide specific guidance, but said in October that analysts’ estimates were at the high end of what it expected to earn.

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