Accell Group has today announced that it recorded an increase in both turnover and profit in the first few months of 2015 compared to the same period of 2014. The weather conditions in Europe were favourable for bicycle sales. Accell Group’s collections accounted for a greater increase in turnover than expected. Demand for electric bicycles and sports bicycles in the higher segment of the market showed particularly strong growth.
René Takens, Chairman of the Accell Group Board of Directors said, “We have seen a good start to the year 2015 with a positive development of turnover. Sales of electric bicycles in the Netherlands and Germany increased. We are also seeing a clear increase in demand for our sports bikes and an increase in turnover in parts & accessories, partly due to the acquisitions of Comet in Spain and CSN in Denmark.”
He continued, “The higher turnover we booked helped to boost operating profit in the first months of 2015. We therefore maintain our forecast to the effect that, barring unforeseen circumstances, turnover and profit will continue to increase in 2015.”
Over the past few months, currency exchange rates have been relatively volatile, especially that of the US dollar. On a seasonal basis, Accell Group is largely covered for fluctuations in the most important currency exchange rates. Additional purchasing due to higher sales does have to be paid at current exchange rates.
The recommended sales prices for a number of Accell brands have therefore seen an increase this season, in order to partly charge the increase in costs which resulted from the strong fluctuations in the US dollar exchange rate. This limited the impact of the more expensive dollar on Accell Group’s results.
Accell Group has successfully completed the previously announced acquisition of CSN, a distributor of bicycle parts and accessories in Denmark. The company has an annual turnover of around €13 million and was consolidated as of 1 January 2015. The integration of North American operations into Accell North America is now virtually complete.
Leading European bike business Accell Group owns brands such as Raleigh and Van Nicholas, alongside Koga and Lapierre amongst others.
