Viva Leisure financial results show income for last half year exceeding previous guidance

Financial results for the 2021/22 financial year released today by leading fitness club owner and operator Viva Leisure shows that its facilities have rebounded strongly as gyms opened again after COVID lockdowns, with revenue of $56.8 million for the last half year exceeding its previous guidance of $54 to $56 million.

Overall, the ASX-listed company recorded revenue of $90.8 million for the full year, up 8.5% from the 2020/21 year income of $83.7 million.

The company also reported a record monthly Revenue Run Rate (MRRR) of $10.2 million in June

With the group continuing to expand, the Viva Leisure network of wholly-owned and franchised clubs, including the Club Lime, Plus Fitness and hiit republic brands, increased to 334 locations as of 30th June 2022 with its own club locations increasing to 151 at the end of the financial year.

Memberships across the network saw a significant rise of 7.3% to reach 320,161 with corporate membership numbers standing at 159,546 as of 30th June 2022, up 26.6%.

The report also noted the strategic acquisition of Rebalance Pilates and Yoga studios - completed in December 2021 - and Viva Leisure entering the Western Australia market with seven corporate owned Plus Fitness locations, and one additional location completed in August 2022

In a statement on the results, Viva Leisure advised “Viva capitalises on this trend to use its industry-leading propriety technology platform to provide in-depth data-analytics into the use of all gym locations, which enables Viva to continually assess each location across many assessment criteria, make necessary changes to deliver exceptional member experience.”

Speaking this morning in an address to investors, Viva Leisure Chief Executive and Managing Director, Harry Konstantinou advised “fitness and health is a lifestyle for our members. It is part of their daily routine and from the data we are seeing is not affected by inflationary pressures. This observation is also matched by our listed peers in the UK and the USA who are seeing the same data and increases in membership enrolment.

“Fitness for the community is no longer about waistlines and being beach body ready. It is about what happens inside our bodies. It is about mental health, about keeping your heart healthy, about feeling better with a clear mind and helping with stress. It is also about socialising and getting out. While previously it may have been common to visit the pub after work, what we are seeing is that our members would rather visit the gym after work to socialise and get a work-out.

“The energy and feeling you get after each and every workout is what our members chase and enjoy, and this is what makes it a lifestyle spend and not a discretionary spend.

We need to also understand that a weekly gym membership is extremely affordable when compared to other costs in people’s budgets. At an average $15-20 per week for a gym membership, this is less than most people spend on lunch each day.”

Image: One of Viva Leisure's hiit republic locations.

Article amended 3.45pm 18th August 2022 to include comment from Viva Leisure Chief Executive and Managing Director, Harry Konstantinou.