German sports apparel and footwear brand Puma has announced a 40% jump in first-quarter net profit, boosted by higher sales.
Net earnings grew to EUR94.4m (US$105.3m) from EUR67.4m for the quarter ending 31 March, while operating earnings, or Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT), were 27% higher at EUR252.5m.
Sales rose 16.6% year-on-year to EUR1.3bn, prompted by sales growth in each of its three regions. EMEA saw a 4.4% (actual) year-on-year sales rise to EUR501.7m, while sales in the Americas increased 19.8% to EUR416.6m, and those in Asia/Pacific rose 32.5% to EUR401m.
In terms of product categories, apparel sales were up 28.6% to EUR468.4m while footwear sales were 10.2% higher at EUR693.3m. Accessories sales grew 13.4% to EUR211.6m during the period.
Bjørn Gulden, CEO of Puma, said the first quarter was the “best Puma has ever seen” in terms of quarterly results.
“Revenues of EUR1.3bn (+15.3% currency adjusted) is the highest Puma has ever achieved in a quarter and the EBIT of EUR143m (EBIT-margin 10.8%) was also the highest absolute EBIT Puma has ever achieved. So, it has been a very good start into the year. The growth in all regions and all product divisions shows that we continue to make progress. Even if we have nine more months to go and despite a lot of uncertainty in the market, we feel comfortable that we will achieve our guidance for the full year.”
Last week, Puma announced it was setting a new target for 90% of all cotton and polyester used in its products to come from sustainable sources by 2020.
