Adidas on Tuesday raised its 2024 profit outlook after what the German sportswear giant said was a better than expected first quarter.
In an unscheduled announcement, the company said it now expects full-year operating profit of about €700-million ($744-million), up from €500-million previously forecast.
The upbeat comments about 2024 come a month after Adidas posted its first annual loss in more than three decades, warning sales in North America would fall again as sportswear retailers in the U.S. struggle with high inventories.
Currency-neutral sales are expected to rise by a mid-to high single-digit percentage in 2024, up from a mid single-digit rate, it said.
Frankfurt-listed shares in the company, which is scheduled to publish final first-quarter results on April 30, were up 3.5 per cent on the news.
Adidas said quarterly operating profit reached €336-million, up from €60-million a year earlier, when it was hit by the break-up with Kanye West and the discontinuation of its Yeezy business.
Adidas further said it sold another €150-million worth of Yeezy products in the quarter, for an operating profit of around €50-million.
The remainder of Adidas’ Yeezy inventory would likely be sold for about €200-million later this year, but without any further profit contribution, the company said.
Adidas said it continued to expect unfavorable currency effects to weigh on its profitability this year, a trend that it says would hit “both reported revenues and the gross margin development in 2024.”