The German sporting goods provider Puma SE presented mixed figures for the final quarter and the entire 2024 financial year on Wednesday evening. Accordingly, sales development was within the forecast. However, the result in the last few months before the turn of the year was lower than expected.
According to the preliminary, not yet audited figures, sales in the fourth quarter amounted to almost 2.29 billion euros. This corresponded to an increase of 15.5 percent compared to the same period last year. Adjusted for exchange rate changes, revenue grew by 9.8 percent. For the year as a whole, sales increased by 2.5 percent (currency-adjusted +4.4 percent) to 8.82 billion euros. The results were in line with the outlook, explained Puma.
The consolidated result is lower than in 2023
The result looked less encouraging. The company was able to report strong growth there for the final quarter, but was unable to meet its own expectations. The operating profit (EBIT) was 109 million euros, significantly higher than the previous year’s figure of 94 million euros. The consolidated result jumped from one million to 24 million euros.
For the entire financial year, EBIT amounted to 622 million euros. This remained unchanged from 2023 and fell short of market expectations. The EBIT margin was 7.1 percent. The consolidated result, which had been 305 million euros in the previous year, fell to 282 million euros. The decline was “primarily due to higher net interest expense and higher earnings for non-controlling interests,” the company explained.
Additional savings measures should ensure higher margins
In view of the results, CEO Arne Freundt drew an ambivalent conclusion. “We delivered solid revenue growth in 2024 and made significant progress on our strategic initiatives, but are not satisfied with our profitability,” he admitted in a statement.
At the same time, the CEO announced additional measures to increase margins. “With an increased focus on translating our sales growth into higher profitability growth, we have initiated ‘Nextlevel’, a comprehensive efficiency program for cost optimization and operational improvement,” explained Freundt. Its goal is “to achieve an EBIT margin of 8.5 percent by 2027 by optimizing direct and indirect costs.” In the long term, the company aims to increase the EBIT margin to ten percent.