U.S. Health Clubs Post Growth for Second Quarter of 2004

by Joy Keller

How did your club fare during the spring of 2004? If a recent survey of 13 U.S. health and sports clubs is indicative of overall industry growth, not badly. The survey, conducted for the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association by Industry Insights Inc., found that commercial financial performance improved for the quarter ending June 30, 2004, relative to the same period in 2003.

Companies grew their total revenue an average of 8.3% to $12.7 million for the quarter. Participating businesses also reported improving same-store revenue, revenue for clubs that had been in operation for at least 2 years, by an average of 3.4% to $10.6 million.

The average earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and rent (EBITDAR) improved by 10.7% to $3.5 million. As a percentage of total revenue, EBITDAR remained steady at approximately 27% of revenue for the second quarter of both 2003 and 2004.