FINNISH-BASED AMER REPORTS LOSSES AND SPORTS RESTRUCTURE

     High marketing costs and "adverse currency trends" have
forced profits at Finnish company Amer to fall $17.4M over the
first four months of '94 compared to the same period last year.
But Amer, the world's second largest sporting goods maker and
owner of the Wilson, MacGregor and Atomic brands, is "pushing
ahead with its strategy of focusing on branded sporting goods
world-wide" and announced yesterday that it was launching "full-
scale restructuring of the sporting goods division to extract
maximum synergies from its key brands."  Amer CEO Seppo Ahonen
has moved from Helsinki to Chicago to oversee the changes.  The
sports division will be split into six units -- Wilson golf,
Wilson racquets, Wilson team, MacGregor golf, Atomic (mainly ski)
and Oxygen (snowboards/in-line skates).  Each will handle its own
marketing, but combine sales and administration in certain areas
(Hugh Canregy, FINANCIAL TIMES, 6/9).