FRANKFURT (Reuters) -German sportswear maker Puma reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter results on Wednesday as high demand from both retailers and consumers more than offset the impact of the war in Ukraine and supply chain bottlenecks.
The company said its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose 27% to 196 million euros ($208.62 million) in the first three months of 2022, compared to analysts’ average forecast for EBIT of 181.5 million euros.
“(This) confirms our investments into innovation and marketing are paying off,” Chief Executive Bjorn Gulden said in a statement, adding that Puma sold more products in all categories, with the most growth in running, football, basketball and golf apparel.
“Based on such a strong first quarter, we would normally raise our outlook for the full year. But given the increased uncertainty in the world, we have decided to stick to our initial outlook from the beginning of this year,” Gulden said.
Amid the COVID-19 outbreak in China and the Ukraine war, Puma will have to focus on market share gains and mid-term growth over short-term profit optimization, which will increase its operating expenditures and hurt gross margin, the CEO said.
($1 = 0.9395 euros)
(Reporting by Zuzanna SzymanskaEditing by Paul Carrel and Miranda Murray)
