The financial performance of health club operator SATS in the last quarter of 2020 was "dominated by the second wave of club closures", but the company expects to see a "successful recovery" at reopening.

The fitness giant, which operates more than 240 clubs across the Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark), posted total revenues of NOK846 million (€82.5m, £72m) during Q4 2020, compared to NOK 1.36bn (€101m, £89m) in the same period in 2019.

While the figure represents an 18 per cent fall in revenues, the group said it had "sufficient liquidity" to handle a continued volatile environment going forward.

SATS also opened nine new clubs in the quarter, of which six in the Greater Oslo area in Norway, two in the Greater Stockholm area in Sweden and one in Turku in Finland.

The group's member base shrank by 9 per cent during the quarter, when compared to the membership levels of Q4 2019.

Publishing its figures, SATS said that despite the COVID-19 disruption, however, the group remains hugely positive about the future of the sector – and its own outlook.

"We have had strong development in the usage of SATS digital products, and continued expansion of the product portfolio," it said.

"We expect to repeat the successful member base recovery we saw after the first wave of closures, once we are allowed to reopen the currently closed clubs.

"We have had strong visit development when reopening clubs, such as when reopening clubs in Bergen, with visits nearly on par with last year.

"The pandemic has also increased the focus on living a healthy lifestyle, so demand is expected to increase and structural opportunities to arise."

Sondre Gravir, CEO of SATS, added: “We're highly concerned about the level of physical activity, or let’s say inactivity, in the population now that several regions have imposed lock-downs of fitness clubs for longer periods of time.

"We're impressed by our members, who try to find alternative ways of moving and working out, both outdoor and at home, but more than 60 per cent state that they are working out less now than prior to the pandemic.

"Physical activity is more important than ever before, and SATS is here to contribute."