“2022 was a record year for Puma. We accelerated our growth across all product categories and worldwide despite a volatile market environment. This success is thanks to our amazing Puma Family team and to our great partnerships with athletes, retailers, and suppliers. While facing some economic headwinds in 2023, we remain hungry and will advance the execution of our successful strategy. We will focus on elevating our brand strength and on winning market share in the US and China”, commented Arne Freundt, Chief Executive Officer of Puma since January.

Fourth Quarter Results

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, Puma's sales grew by 21.1% (by 24.3% as reported), reaching 2.2 billion euros, year-over-year. In this period, the company's wholesale business added 1.56 billion euros to the total revenue, up by 25.7%, and the direct-to-consumer business amounted to 638.9 million euros, up by 11.0%, on a comparable basis to the same period of fiscal 2021.

The Americas region “delivered strong sales growth of 29.0%” in the three months to the 31^st of December, mainly due to the performance in Latin America,  and sales in the EMEA region rose by 26.1% in the same quarter, “driven by strong growth across almost all key” European markets, as compared to the same period of the prior year. Meanwhile, the Asia/Pacific region recorded a sales increase of 1.6%: while in Greater China the COVID-19-related measures and geopolitical tensions continued to impact business, other key markets in the region performed well.

In the last quarter of 2022, Puma's operating result (EBIT) declined by 37.5% to 40.5 million euros, as compared to 65.0 million euros in the same quarter of 2021, and EBIT margin came in at 1.8%, as compared to 3.7% in the same period of the previous year.

The company's fourth quarter net earnings decreased by 82.0% to 1.4 million euros, as compared to the 7.9 million net earnings recorded in the same period of 2021; accordingly, earnings per share amounted to 0.01 euros (Q4 2021: 0.05 euros).

Fiscal 2022 Results

Puma's full year sales rose by 18.9% (by 24.4% as reported), on a comparable basis to 2021, reaching 8.47 billion euros. By region, in 2022, the company's sales grew by 22.5% in the EMEA region, totalling 3.11 billion euros, and by 28.3% in the Americas region, amounting to 3.68 billion euros, on a comparable basis to 2021. In the Asia/Pacific region, sales declined by 2.2% year-over-year, adding 1.67 billion euros to the total revenue.

In the twelve months to the 31^st of December, Puma's operating result (EBIT) improved by 15.0%, reaching 641 million euros, and EBIT margin was 7.6%, on a comparable basis to EBIT of 557 million euros and EBIT margin of 8.2% recorded in 2021.

The German-based sportswear company also reported a net earnings growth from 310 million euros in 2021 to 354 million euros in 2022. Annual earnings per share also improved to 2.36 euros last year (FY 2021: 2.07 euros).

Fiscal 2023 Outlook

Despite the good performance in 2022, Puma acknowledged that it continues “to face a high degree of geopolitical, macroeconomic and commercial uncertainty. The war in Ukraine, the threat of recession, high inflation and high-interest rates are resulting in volatile retailer and consumer demand”. Moreover, the increased inventory levels across the industry will contribute to a more competitive market environment".

Still assuming there will be “no further deterioration of the above-mentioned factors” and expecting “a normalization of market conditions in the US and China”, for the current fiscal year, Puma is expecting a currency-adjusted sales growth in the high single-digit percentage range and operating result (EBIT) in a range of 590 million euros to 670 million euros, as compared to 641 million euros in 2022.