MOSCOW, July 27. /TASS/. The revenue of Russian fitness clubs in the first half of 2022 decreased by 13.2 bln rubles ($222.4 mln) compared to the same time in the pre-crisis year of 2019, head of the National Fitness Community Elena Silina told TASS.

"In total, the industry lost 4.84 bln rubles in the second quarter of 2022, and 13.2 bln rubles in six months. This was due to the impact of sanctions pressure on Russia, the withdrawal of significant foreign companies from the market, growing operating expenses, and a decline in the population's purchasing power," she said.

Regular monitoring of the industry's financial state revealed that approximately 78% of fitness organizations are currently experiencing a lack of working capital, while approximately 58% are approaching profitability. At the same time, roughly 20% of market participants achieved pre-crisis levels in 2019, with some even exceeding them by an average of 7%. "This ‘top 20’ featured large chain fitness clubs to a greater extent, since they have an opportunity to support lagging venues through the redistribution of funds within the company. It is more difficult for individual projects to survive," Silina explained.

In general, for six months, sales of club cards in the industry decreased by 10% compared to the same pre-crisis period, while sales of supplementary services were 5.8% "in the red". The average club attendance and occupancy rate reached 11.2%.

"Given the current situation, the average expected losses at the end of 2022 will be around 13% by 2019 at 21.7 bln rubles. The projected market volume at the end of 2022 will amount to about 145.3 bln rubles. The forecasted growth by 2021 will be about 3%" Silina noted.

The National Fitness Community also released figures for Q2 2022. According to the materials, the average sales of club cards increased by 0.6% compared to the same quarter in 2021, but fell by 8.6% compared to April-June 2019. Average value-added sales over the same period climbed by 4.6% against 2021, but decreased by 3% against 2019.

Average club attendance and occupancy declined by 0.9% in the second quarter compared to the same period in 2021, and by 9.5% compared the figures from 2019.

The National Fitness Community is the first professional association of Russian fitness market operators, with over 1,870 fitness clubs from 79 Russian regions, and has 46 official representative offices. The organization includes 10 professional educational institutions, seven associations, six federations, 30 leading Russian sports and recreation companies. It is an official partner of the Russian Ministry of Sports.