Footwear sales help lift profits at adidas, Puma
Strong footwear sales are behind the better than expected third quarter profits posted earlier this week by Germany’s adidas-Salomon and Puma.
At adidas-Salomon, profits were up 15.2% to Eur131 million or Eur2.89 a share on sales of Eur1.86 billion, where were 4.4% up on the year before. Though the latter figure was slightly down on analysts’ expectations, profits were slightly ahead, helping the company stay on track for its 5% sales growth outlook for the full year. Year to date sales in Asia soared 21% to Eur841 million as the brand's sponsorship of ten of the 32 teams competing in the World Cup paid off. Underlying order backlogs were up 16%, the most positive development in four years, adidas said.
Profits at Puma meanwhile were up by a phenomenal 73% to Eur48.6 million as strong European demand helped push sales world-wide up to $292 million. Sales for the full year are expected to be 50% up on 2001.
Founded by two brothers in the small town of Herzogenaurach, near Nuremberg in southern Germany, adidas and Puma have taken separate routes to the market leading positions they now occupy, with adidas focusing on the sports functionality of the footwear and Puma on style.
