Puma's Q1 sales meet expectations, shares rise over 4%

Puma's Q1 sales: German sportswear giant Puma on Wednesday announced that its first-quarter sales met expectations, leading to a surge of over 4 per cent in its shares, driven by the resurgence in demand for retro shoes and a rebound in growth in the Americas region.

According to Refinitiv data, currency-adjusted sales climbed by 0.5 per cent to reach 2.10 billion euros ($2.26 billion), aligning closely with the 2.1 billion euros anticipated by analysts.

The rise in sales can be attributed to the popularity of retro shoe styles like 'terrace,' which have contributed significantly to the success of sportswear brands like Puma and its competitor Adidas. Puma's CEO Arne Freundt noted, "We already see that sales of our trending terrace and skate styles Palermo and Suede XL are accelerating month over month."

In response to the positive sales figures, shares surged by 4.3 per cent to reach 47.15 euros during early trading hours, offering some relief amidst a year of weakness in the share price, according to analysts at JP Morgan.

The Americas region, which had experienced a downturn for four consecutive quarters, reported a 1.0 per cent sales growth, reaching 790 million euros. Notably, the US exhibited a sequential improvement, signalling a promising trend.

While the retail partners are still addressing elevated stock levels, Puma anticipates further enhancement in the second quarter, as stated by Freundt.

Despite the positive sales performance, the reported sales for the group witnessed a decline of 3.9 per cent compared to the previous year, primarily due to currency impacts, which reduced sales in euro terms by approximately 100 million euros during the quarter.

Puma's wholesale business also experienced a currency-adjusted decline of 2.9%, amounting to 1.61 million euros.

(with Reuters inputs)