Corporate | 29 April 2016 08:00

PUMA SE: First Quarter Sales Growth across all Segments

DGAP-News: PUMA SE / Key word(s): Quarter Results

2016-04-29 / 08:00
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

QUARTERLY STATEMENT Q1 2016

First Quarter Sales Growth across all Segments

Herzogenaurach, April 29, 2016

– Sales increase by 3.7% to EUR 852 million (+7.3% currency adjusted), with Footwear being the main growth driver

– Gross profit margin remains flat at 46.8%, as price adjustments, combined with an improved product offering, compensate negative impacts from a stronger US-Dollar

– EBIT improves by 10.1% to EUR 41.3 million, despite increased marketing investments to support key initiatives

– Strong momentum in women’s business continues, underpinned by the successful launches of new products and marketing concepts

Bjørn Gulden, Chief Executive Officer of PUMA SE:

“The first quarter of 2016 developed as we expected. We saw organic growth in all segments and all regions. The development in certain currencies slowed down the reported growth in both top and bottom line.
We are especially happy to see that our sell through to consumers is improving. Both in our own retail and with our retail partners we see a continuous improvement. This is especially strong in our women’s business, where the launches of new products and new marketing concepts have started to show excellent results.
We do now look forward to this year’s great sport events. The Copa América, the UEFA Euro 2016, and the Olympics in Rio are all events that will have a positive impact on our industry and where we look forward to showcase PUMA as an innovative and design driven sports brand.
Despite the negative impact of currencies we confirm our outlook for the full year.”

Sales Development:

PUMA’s sales growth continued in the first quarter of 2016. Sales increased by 3.7% to
EUR 851.9 million (+7.3% currency adjusted), compared to EUR 821.4 million in the previous year.

In the EMEA region, sales grew by 3.8% to EUR 354.4 million (+6.6% currency adjusted), with stronger growth in Germany, Austria, and France. This development was supported by a good performance of the Teamsport category prior to the UEFA Euro 2016. We anticipate further growth in Teamsport for the second quarter leading up to the event. Our teams Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia, and Czech Republic will all be wearing PUMA jerseys featuring PUMA’s new ACTV Thermo-R technology, which helps to maintain the best body temperature.

Sales in the Americas region remained flat at EUR 288.1 million in reported terms, but grew 5.4% on a currency adjusted basis. All major countries in the region continued to improve, while the Latin American region was strongly impacted by the weakness of its currencies, notably the Argentinian Peso. This impacted the sales development in Euro terms severely.

Sales in the Asia/Pacific region recorded the highest growth rate, improving 9.8% (+11.2% currency adjusted) to EUR 209.4 million. China was the strongest performer in the quarter, followed by India.

PUMA’s Footwear segment grew for the seventh quarter in a row. Sales rose by 3.7% (+8.5% currency adjusted) to EUR 392.0 million, with strong gains in the Sportstyle as well as the Running and Training categories, supported especially by the successful launches of women’s silhouettes.

With an increase of 3.7% (+7.0% currency adjusted) to EUR 290.1 million, the performance in Apparel was also positive, as our Training and Teamsport products continued to resonate well with our customers.

Accessories saw a rise of 4.0% (+5.1% currency adjusted) to EUR 169.8 million despite a continued weak Golf environment.

PUMA’s own and operated retail sales , including e-commerce, increased 15.1% currency adjusted to EUR 158.7 million representing 18.6% of total sales in the first quarter of 2016. This was achieved by strong like for like sales growth, caused by better product offer and improved consumer experience in the stores, and the expansion of new stores built with the new “Forever Faster” store design.

Gross Profit Margin and Operating Expenses:
The gross profit margin remained broadly unchanged at 46.8%, despite the negative currency impact from the stronger US-Dollar in 2016 compared to last year. PUMA was able to successfully implement selective price adjustments and our improved product mix helped to mitigate the negative impact from a stronger US-Dollar. Footwear gross profit margins improved from 42.9% to 43.5%, while Apparel margins declined from 50.7% to 49.9% and Accessories softened from 49.6% to 49.2%.

Operating expenses rose only 3.0% and amounted to EUR 361.7 million in the first quarter 2016. That increase stemmed mainly from intensified marketing activities and retail upgrades, while other operating areas and functions were able to keep the cost stable.

Operating Result and Net Earnings:
Operating result (EBIT) was ahead of the first quarter 2015 by 10.1% at EUR 41.3 million, as sales grew stronger than operating expenses, supported by a stable gross profit margin.

Net earnings improved by 4.0% to EUR 25.8 million (prior year: EUR 24.8 million) and earnings per share were up correspondingly at EUR 1.73 compared to EUR 1.66 in the first quarter 2015.

Working Capital:
PUMA’s working capital increased by 3.2% from EUR 744.7 million to EUR 768.4 million in line with the higher sales and business volumes.

Outlook 2016:
We continue to expect a currency adjusted high single digit increase of net sales, a gross profit margin on previous year’s level (45.5%), an increase of currency-adjusted operating expenses in a mid to high single-digit range, and an operating result (EBIT) between EUR 115 million and EUR 125 million.

Brand and Marketing:
One highlight for PUMA in the first quarter was the FENTY PUMA by Rihanna fashion show at New York Fashion Week in February. A series of styles for the female consumer have been launched successfully, both in collaboration with Rihanna as well as in our inline collection. Key footwear styles such as Creeper and FENTY Trainer sold out within weeks or days. We also reintroduced our iconic DISC system into running by launching the IGNITE DISC. In Motorsport we introduced the first products under our new partnership with Red Bull Formula One Racing.

Rounding differences may be observed in the percentage and numerical values expressed in millions of Euro since the underlying calculations are always based on thousands of Euro.

Financial Calendar FY 2016:

February 18, 2016 Financial Results FY 2015

April 29, 2016 Quarterly Statement Q1 2016

May 4, 2016 Annual General Meeting

July 27, 2016 Interim Report Q2 2016

November 10, 2016 Quarterly Statement Q3 2016

The financial releases and other financial information are available on the Internet at “about.puma.com”.

Media Relations:

Kerstin Neuber – Corporate Communications – PUMA SE – +49 9132 81 2984 – kerstin.neuber@puma.com

Investor Relations:

Johan-Philip Kuhlo – Global Strategy – PUMA SE – +49 9132 81 0 – investor-relations@puma.com

Notes to the editors:

– The financial reports are posted on www.about.puma.com .

– PUMA SE stock symbol:

Reuters: PUMG.DE, Bloomberg: PUM GY,
Börse Frankfurt: ISIN: DE0006969603- WKN: 696960

Notes relating to forward-looking statements:
This document contains forward-looking statements about the Company’s future financial status and strategic initiatives. The forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations and assumptions of the management team. These are subject to a certain level of risk and uncertainty including, but not limited to those described above or in other disclosures, in particular in the chapter Risk and Opportunity Management in the Group Management Report. In the event that the expectations and the assumptions do not materialize or unforeseen risks arise, the Company’s actual results can differ significantly from expectations. Therefore, we cannot assume responsibility for the correctness of these statements.

PUMA

PUMA is one of the world’s leading Sports Brands, designing, developing, selling and marketing Footwear, Apparel and Accessories. For over 65 years, PUMA has established a history of making fast product designs for the fastest athletes on the planet. PUMA offers performance and sport-inspired lifestyle products in categories such as Football, Running and Training, Golf, and Motorsports. It engages in exciting collaborations with renowned design brands to bring innovative and fast designs to the sports world. The PUMA Group owns the brands PUMA, Cobra Golf, Dobotex and Brandon. The company distributes its products in more than 120 countries, employs more than 10,000 people worldwide, and is headquartered in Herzogenaurach/Germany. For more information, please visit http://www.puma.com

2016-04-29 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP – a service of EQS Group AG.
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Language:	English
Company:	PUMA SE
	PUMA Way 1
	91074 Herzogenaurach
	Germany
Phone:	+49 9132 81 0
Fax:	+49 9132 81 2246
E-mail:	investor-relations@puma.com
Internet:	www.puma.com
ISIN:	DE0006969603
WKN:	696960
Indices:	SDAX
Listed:	Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Munich; Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Stuttgart; Terminbörse EUREX


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