The German sporting goods supplier Puma SE was able to look back on an extremely successful financial year on Wednesday: in 2022 the company set new records in terms of sales and operating profit. However, the outlook for the current year was rather cautious in view of numerous uncertainties.
In the past financial year, Puma’s group sales reached 8.47 billion euros, the highest level in the company’s history. Compared to 2021, sales increased by 24.4 percent, adjusted for exchange rate changes, they grew by 18.9 percent.
Puma benefits from strong growth in America and Europe
Business in America developed particularly dynamically: sales there increased by 39.8 percent (currency-adjusted +28.3 percent) to 3.69 billion euros. In the EMEA region, which includes Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Puma was able to improve by 23.0 percent (currency-adjusted +22.5 percent) to 3.11 billion euros.
Things looked less rosy in the Asia-Pacific region. Sales there grew by just 1.7 percent to EUR 1.67 billion, currency-adjusted they even fell by 2.2 percent. The weak development was “due to Covid-19-related restrictions and geopolitical tensions in Greater China,” the company said.
The annual profit increases by 14 percent
Gross margin declined to 46.1 percent from 47.9 percent in 2021. According to the sports goods manufacturer, the reasons for this were “higher procurement prices due to increases in raw material prices and freight rates, an unfavorable mix of sales channels and industry-wide sales promotion measures towards the end of the year”.
Thanks to strong sales growth and consistent cost controls, Puma was able to increase its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) by 15.0 percent to EUR 640.6 million, setting another company record. The net profit was 353.5 million euros and thus 14.2 percent above the previous year’s value.
The forecasts for 2023 are rather cautious
CEO Arne Freundt, who has been at the helm of the company since last November, was naturally satisfied with the results presented: “2022 was a record year for Puma. We have accelerated our growth globally and across all product categories despite a volatile market environment,” he said in a statement. Despite the “continued difficult economic environment” in the current year, the sports goods manufacturer will “remain ambitious”, stressed Freundt. “We are focusing in particular on further strengthening our brand desirability and gaining market share in the USA and China.”
However, guidance for 2023 remained cautious as the company continues to face “a high level of geopolitical, macroeconomic and commercial uncertainty.” Management therefore only anticipates currency-adjusted sales growth in the high single-digit percentage range and an operating result (EBIT) in the range of EUR 590 to 670 million.