Exceptionally long winter in Asia
Puma points to the results of the first quarter
as a reason for the adjustment: a drop in sales by 2.3% to 782 million euro and a drop in profits by 32% to
50 million euro. Both figures were well below expectations.
The disappointing results are mainly due to the
situation in crisis-prone Europe and the exceptionally long winter in Asia: in Europe sales dropped by 4.8%, in Asia by 2.9%. Fortunately for the company, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina somewhat soothed the pain. Russia and
Turkey also performed well.
Lower profits on the horizon
Furthermore Puma saw its gross profit margins
drop from 51.2% to 49.1%. The company says it is suffering from bad foreign
exchange hedging and higher inventory costs, especially for sneakers.
Management said the company is “unlikely to
meet its original guidance of low- to mid-single-digit growth”, even before one-time expenses. Puma is also working on the implementation of
a cost savings plan. Company management does however expect the profit of 2013
to be higher than that of 2012.
Puma is part of the French luxury group Kering,
the former PPR.
