‘On the right path’: US and Europe lead for Puma

Puma, the sportswear group that sponsors Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt, said on Tuesday that its businesses in the Americas and Europe had had a strong start to the year.

The German sportswear group said earlier this month that it had made an operating profit of €70m in the first three months of this year, up 70 per cent from the same period a year earlier. Sales climbed 15 per cent to €1bn.

On Tuesday it gave further details, revealing that – excluding currency movements – its sales grew fastest in the Americas, where they rose 17 per cent. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa they were up 15.9 per cent, and in Asia they rose 12.4 per cent.

Puma’s dominant footwear business grew 24.8 per cent, while its clothing and accessories lines grew less quickly, notching up 9.5 and 3.9 per cent growth respectively.

Bjørn Gulden, who has been working to turn around Puma’s fortunes since becoming chief executive in 2013 said that the start to the year had been stronger than anticipated. “This… shows that Puma is on the right path,” he said.

In light of its rapid start to the year, the sportswear group earlier this month raised its sales and earnings forecasts for 2017. It expects its sales to grow at a “low double-digit” rate, once currency moves have been factored out, and its annual operating profit to be between €185m and €200m.