German sportswear firm Puma's sales up 18.4% in Q2 FY22

Sales in Asia/Pacific declined 1.8 per cent (ca) due to COVID-19 related lockdown measures in Greater China, while other major markets in Asia/Pacific recorded strong growth. All product divisions grew double-digit with footwear being up by 19.7 per cent (ca), apparel up by 20.2 per cent (ca) and accessories up by 11.2 per cent (ca). In line with previous quarters, growth was driven by continued strong demand for the performance categories like Running & Training, Teamsports, Golf and Basketball, as well as for the Sportstyle category, the company said in a press release.

“We feel that the increased investments into R&D, innovation and product development over the past years are starting to pay off. Our gross margin is currently of course under pressure and declined by 100 basis points to 46.5 per cent, mainly due to an unfavourable geographical and channel mix as well as the higher freight rates. Despite increasing costs, we will continue to focus on keeping our prices competitive and will prioritise sales growth and market share gains above short-term profitability. Due to our strong sales growth we managed to increase our EBIT by 34 per cent from €109 million in Q2 2021 to €146 million in Q2 2022 despite increased investments into marketing and sales and higher warehousing costs,” said CEO Bjorn Gulden.

In the first half of 2022, sales increased by 19 per cent (ca) to €3,914.1 million (+24.7 per cent reported). Americas led the growth with a 33.6 per cent (ca) increase in sales, followed by the EMEA region, with all key markets in Europe contributing strong growth to a 23.5 per cent (ca) increase in sales. Sales in the Asia/Pacific region were down 10.4 per cent (ca) due to geopolitical tensions and COVID-19 related lockdown measures in Greater China, while other major markets in Asia/Pacific recorded strong growth. All product divisions grew double-digit, with footwear being up by 18.9 per cent (ca), apparel up by 18.1 per cent (ca) and accessories up by 20.9 per cent (ca).

“We do see an increased level of uncertainty around the world: COVID-19 is still around us, the crisis in Ukraine is worse than ever and there is high inflationary pressure in almost all our markets. Despite all these uncertainties we will continue to invest into our people, brand and infrastructure. We will also continue with our “People First” attitude and do everything we can to ensure the health and safety of all our people, especially in Ukraine. The Puma Family means more than short-term profitability. I remain optimistic for our sector in general and the Puma brand in particular and we even raise our revenue outlook for the full year 2022,” added Gulden.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (RR)