Adidas on target for year end earnings
In the first six months of the year, sales in Asia and the US topped Eur539 million (+26%) and Eur953 million (+8%) respectively, with the hosting of the World Cup in Japan and Korea helping boost sales in the football category by a massive 85%. Group sales climbed 3% in Europe to Eur1.6 billion but were down by 5% in Latin America to Eur79 million due to negative currency translation effects.
Footwear revenues for the Group increased 6% to Eur1.5 billion – the main driver being a 50% increase in basketball sales. Apparel sales meanwhile grew 7% to Eur1.1 billion, with World Cup-inspired sales in Asia again providing the main engine for growth. Hardware revenues grew 11% from Eur512 million to Eur570 million, boosted by sales from the World Cup and new sales from the Maxfli and Slazenger Golf brands.
Commenting on the results, Herbert Hainer, Chairman and CEO of adidas-Salomon, said: "For the quarter, sales and earnings continued to develop positively, with North America and Asia leading the way. With the majority of our expenses now behind us, we expect business to accelerate in the second half of the year, particularly our earnings growth. I am therefore pleased to confirm our 2002 financial targets of at least 5% sales growth and 5 to 10% earnings improvement for the full year."
