Puma exceeds expectations

German sports brand Puma has had an excellent quarter, as both turnover and profit grew in double digits. The company is revising its full-year forecast upwards.

Growth across the board

In the third quarter, Puma achieved a turnover growth of 19 % to 1.48 billion euros excluding currency adjustments (17 % if these are included). The sports goods manufacturer experienced strong growth in all regions and saw all product divisions (shoes, clothing and accessories) make significant progress. Operating profit (EBIT) was a quarter higher than in the same period last year, rising from 129.9 million euros to 162.2 million euros.

Over the first nine months of the year, Puma achieved a turnover of 4.02 billion euros. The operating result went up by 28 % to 385 million euros.

“Best quarter ever”

CEO Bjørn Gulden was quite happy with the results and called it “the best quarter that Puma has every achieved – both in terms of revenue and EBIT.” And although he expects the trade war between China and the United States to have a negative impact, Gulden is very optimistic about the whole of 2019: “Nevertheless, the good development in the third quarter and the outlook for the fourth quarter allows us to look at a sales growth of around 15 % currency adjusted and an EBIT between 420 million euros and 430 million euros for the full year 2019.” To date, the company has been working on the basis of growth of 13 % and an EBIT of between 410 and 430 million euros.