The US sporting goods supplier Under Armor Inc. closed the first three months of 2022 with a large loss. Because sales did not meet market expectations either, the company’s share price fell by more than 20 percent after the results were published on Friday. After the sports goods company decided in February to change its balance sheet dates, the reporting period was a “transitional quarter”. The new fiscal year 2022/23 did not start until April 1st.
In the months of January to March, group sales amounted to 1.30 billion US dollars (1.24 billion euros). This corresponded to an increase of three percent (currency-adjusted +4 percent) compared to the same period of the previous year. The company justified the unexpectedly weak growth with delivery problems and the significant impact of the Covid 19 pandemic in China.
Higher freight and operating costs as well as increased restructuring expenses pushed the sports goods manufacturer into the red. Under Armor had to report an operating loss of 46.0 million US dollars after an operating profit of 106.9 million US dollars had been achieved in the same period last year. The bottom line was a net deficit of 59.6 million US dollars (56.7 million euros). In the first three months of last year, the company posted a surplus of US$77.8 million.
For the current fiscal year 2022/23, the management expects problems in the global supply chains and uncertainties regarding the further development of the Covid-19 pandemic. Revenue growth of five to seven percent is forecast compared to the comparable value of 5.7 billion US dollars. Due to higher cost burdens, the company expects an operating profit in the amount of 375 to 400 million US dollars after the operating profit adjusted for special items was 424 million US dollars in the same period last year. However, diluted earnings per share are expected to increase from USD 0.47 to between USD 0.79 and USD 0.84 thanks to favorable one-off effects.