German sportswear group Puma reported Thursday growing sales and profits in the second quarter, enjoying a boost from top-scoring sponsored football players like Antoine Griezmann in the Russia World Cup.
The firm’s net profits rose 42 percent year-on-year between April and June, at 31.1 million euros ($36.5 million).
Sales grew 15 percent, to 1.05 billion euros, while operating or underlying profits climbed 33 percent to reach 58 million euros.
“All regions and all product divisions posted double-digit growth,” chief executive Bjorn Gulden said in a statement.
In particular, “the World Cup in Russia was a good event for us with Puma players like Antoine Griezmann and Romelu Lukaku making it almost to the top of the scorer list,” he added.
The French and Belgian strikers claimed second and third place with four goals each, behind England’s Harry Kane with six.
Gulden also hailed “very positive feedback” from Puma’s decision to return to basketball after two decades away from the sport, plastering its leaping-cat logo onto a slew of rookie NBA players and bringing rapper Jay-Z on board as a “creative consultant”.
Looking ahead to the full year, Puma confirmed its forecast of operating profits between 310 and 330 million euros — although Gulden highlighted changing fashion trends, currency headwinds and a “difficult global trade environment” as risks to the outlook. – Agence France-Presse
