Nordic operator, SATS continues its run of strong results, reporting a solid start to 2025 with above normal sales and healthy churn in the first quarter.

Thanks to a successful marketing push, the member base grew by 24,000 members in the quarter, reaching 757,000 by quarter-end. Member growth and increased workout frequency led to an all time high of workouts – 14.1 million in the quarter, or approximately 570 workouts per day average across the c275 clubs.

Average revenue per member also increased by 6 per cent.

At the European Health and Fitness Forum in Köln, Germany, last month, SATS CEO, Sondre Gravir, spoke about the company’s efforts to address churn by keeping members active.

“Members don’t churn if they’re active,” he said. “It’s the passive members which need focus, which comes from good onboarding and encouraging them to try different products. If a member has been inactive for two weeks you have to act quickly. If they go from active to sporadic they’re heading to passive and you lose them at passive.”

EBIT before IFRS 16 was NOK 133 million (£9.7m, US$12.9m, €11.8m) This is a 38 per cent year on year increase, excluding COVID-related compensation in Q1 2024.

Total revenues were NOK 1,395 million (£101.7m, US$135.7m, €119.4m) up 8 per cent compared to the same quarter last year, which was mainly price driven.

“2025 has kicked off with solid momentum, marked by strong membership growth and continued high visit numbers,” says Gravir. “Active members are happy and loyal members, which supports public health and contributes to a more financially robust SATS. This enables further investments in our product offering, continued low leverage and shareholder distributions through dividends and share buybacks.”

Leverage will be maintained at the lower end of its target – 1.5x-2.0x and 50 per cent of annual net profit will be returned via semi-annual dividends and periodic share buyback, the first buyback programme has been completed this year.