Adidas reports record quarter and raises its profit forecast
The Herzogenaurach-based sportswear maker posted third-quarter revenue of 7.25 billion euros. A US tariff refund lifted operating profit above one billion.
Archive image · Photo: Nico Hofmann / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Adidas released preliminary third-quarter figures on 21 October. Revenue rose 9 percent to a record 7.25 billion euros, or 7 percent in currency-neutral terms. Gross margin increased by 2.5 percentage points to 54.3 percent. Operating profit grew 37 percent to 1.01 billion euros, the highest quarterly figure in the company's history. A refund of US tariffs of about 200 million euros contributed, as did full-price sales.
For the full year, Adidas now expects currency-neutral revenue growth of 9 to 10 percent and operating profit of around 2.5 billion euros, up from 2.3 billion previously. About 100 million euros will be reinvested in the fourth quarter. Chief executive Bjørn Gulden acknowledged that the footwear lifestyle business is currently challenging, mainly due to too much inventory in the market. "In this environment we are not trying to maximize the short-term," Gulden said.
Full quarterly results are due on 29 October. For comparison, US rival Nike reported a 4 percent drop in revenue to 11.2 billion dollars in its latest quarter, Retail Dive noted. Analysts at Telsey said Adidas had made significant market share gains.