Johnson Health Tech Co (喬山健康科技) on Thursday reported a 32 percent increase in revenue last month to NT$3.94 billion (US$138.5 million), beating market expectations and hitting a record.
The world’s second-largest fitness equipment maker said in a statement that last month’s revenue growth, a 13.13 percent increase from a year earlier, was mainly driven by strong demand for home fitness products, which grew 198 percent year-on-year on the back of its sales channel expansion from retail and wholesale distributors to e-commerce platforms and hypermarkets.
Given temporary gym closures amid COVID-19 lockdowns, global home fitness equipment sales grew significantly last year from a year earlier, while more people took to working out at home due to rising health awareness caused by the pandemic, the Taichung-based company said.
Photo: Ashley Pon, Bloomberg
Johnson Health’s revenue in the fourth quarter totaled NT$9.63 billion, up 28.83 percent quarterly and 17.6 percent annually, while overall revenue for last year increased 11.44 percent from a year earlier to NT$28.28 billion, also a record, company data showed.
In addition to home fitness equipment, Johnson Health’s product line includes treadmills, exercise bikes, cardio machines and elliptical trainers, primarily sold to commercial facilities such as gyms.
The company said that demand for home fitness equipment would remain steady thanks to sales channel and product lineup expansions, while orders for commercial products would increase as gym chains would resume normal operations as the pandemic eases and vaccines are rolled out.
In addition, sales of massage chairs by Japan’s Fuji Medical Instrument Manufacturing Co are expected to contribute to Johnson Health’s revenue this year, it said.
The company last year acquired a 60 percent stake in Fuji Medical, which markets its chairs under the brand Fujiiryoki.
Separately on Friday, local rival Dyaco International Inc (岱宇國際) said it is optimistic about this year, as demand for home fitness products remains strong in the US, and as the company has clear order visibility through June, while a shortage of shipping containers has led to limited supply, driving up strong pull-in orders from major customers.
“Dyaco will work hard to increase the capacity utilization of its production bases in Taiwan and China, coupled with more efforts like adding prices to secure containers to meet customers’ demands,” the company said in a statement.
Dyaco owns the Spirit Fitness and Xterra Fitness brands, but also makes and distributes products for other brands, including Sole Fitness and Fuel Fitness.
The company posted record-high sales of NT$2.01 billion for last month, up 241.88 percent annually. Cumulative sales for last year climbed 124.35 percent year-on-year to NT$13.11 billion, also a record high, it said.
Dyaco attributed the sales growth to a strong fourth quarter, when the industry entered the high season, while a home exercise trend in the US helped boost last year’s total shipments to more than 100,000 units.
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