The sporting goods manufacturer Adidas wants to pay its shareholders an unchanged dividend despite being in the red in the last financial year. This should again be 0.70 euros per share for 2023, the company announced on Wednesday in Herzogenaurach. In the last financial year, Adidas recorded a loss from continuing operations of 58 million euros, after a profit of 254 million euros in the previous year.
The sporting goods manufacturer justified the loss with an “extraordinarily high” tax rate. The fourth quarter in particular was weak, with a loss in continuing operations of 401 million euros due, among other things, to negative effects from the devaluation of the Argentine peso.
Adidas already presented preliminary figures for 2023 at the end of January, which have now been confirmed. Sales fell by 4.8 percent to 21.4 billion euros, but stagnated after adjusting for currency effects. The operating result fell by almost 60 percent to 268 million euros. Adidas wants to return to growth in sales and operating profit in 2024; the forecast also made at the end of January was confirmed. (dpa)