Berlin — German sportswear company Puma said full-year operating profit should come in at the top end of its expectations after it posted strong third-quarter sales and earnings, helped by the Olympic success of sprinter Usain Bolt.
Bolt has been at the centre of a push by Puma in recent years to put more emphasis on sport performance gear, rather than fashion after the brand fell out of favour, which is also bolstered by its sponsorship of English soccer club Arsenal.
Chief executive Bjorn Gulden said new products such as Ignite Dual running shoes, promoted by Bolt, and the Fenty fashion line, designed by singer Rihanna, were proving popular.
"More consumers are buying our products at full price and retailers are therefore more satisfied with us," he said.
Puma said sales rose 8% to ¤990m ($1.08bn), driven in particular by growth in Europe and the Americas. Net profit almost doubled to ¤39.5m, beating the average analyst forecast for ¤32.9m in a Reuters poll.
It said it expects its full-year earnings before interest and taxation to be in the upper half of the range of ¤115m to ¤125m, reiterating a forecast for a high single-digit rise in currency-adjusted sales.
Rival Adidas last week gave a cautious outlook for 2017 after it reported quarterly net profit rose 15% on sales up 14% and reiterated a forecast for 2016 currency-adjusted sales to grow at a rate in the high teens.
Reuters
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