Puma performs strongly in the second quarter of 2018

The sporting goods manufacturer Puma presented strong figures for the second fiscal quarter of 2018 on Thursday. Currency-adjusted sales of the Herzogenaurach-based company rose by 15% to 1.049 billion euros.

The company recorded double-digit growth rates in all regions and product segments. The operating result (EBIT) increased by 33% to 57 million euros. In the second quarter of the previous year, the figure was 43 million euros.

In the first half of the year, sales rose by 18 percent compared with 2017 to 2.18 billion euros.

"The first six months of the year showed major shifts in product trends and consumer demand, especially for footwear. But we feel that our “fast attitude” and quick reaction time allowed us to continue our growth", says Puma CEO Bjørn Gulden: "We got very positive feedback to our plans of re-entering the Basketball category and both - the announcements of our new NBA players and the revelation of the product - were well received from retailers and basketball fans."

The World Cup in Russia had also gone well for the company "with Puma players Antoine Griezmann and Romelu Lukaku making it almost to the top of the scorer list in second and third place."

For the full year, according to Gulden, Puma expects EBIT of between 310 and 330 million euros, which would correspond to growth of 30 percent, "despite the changed product trends, the uncertain business environment caused by volatile currency rates and difficult global trade environment."