"The second quarter was another great quarter for us. With a currency-adjusted growth of 18% (26% reported) to  2 002 million euros, we exceeded 2 billion euros in quarterly sales for the first time in PUMA’s history. This underlines the strong demand for our products despite all the global obstacles and uncertainties! (…) Our Gross Margin is currently of course under pressure and declined by 100 basis points to 46.5%, mainly due to an unfavourable geographical and channel mix as well as the higher freight rates. Despite increasing costs, we will continue to focus on keeping our prices competitive and will prioritize sales growth and market share gains above short-term profitability", commented Bjørn Gulden, Chief Executive Officer of Puma.  

Second Quarter Results

In the second quarter of fiscal 2022, Puma's sales grew by 18.4% (by 26%, as reported), totalling 2.002 billion euros, on a comparable basis to the same period of last year. The wholesale business rose by 22.6% (ca) in this quarter, reaching 1.56 billion euros, and the direct-to-consumer (DTC) business was up by 5.5% (ca), amounting to 438.8 million euros, as compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2021.

The Americas region recorded a "strong" sales increase of 25.6% (ca), driven by the continued demand for the brand, and sales in the EMEA region were up by 21.5% (ca), with "strong growth" across all key European markets. Sales in Asia/Pacific declined by 1.8% (ca) due to COVID-19-related lockdown measures in Greater China, despite good performances in other Asian/Pacific regions.

Gross profit margin for the quarter declined by 100 basis points to 46.5%, as compared to similar period of the prior year.  Operating result (EBIT) totalled 146.3 million euros, reflecting an increase of 34.4%, as compared to the second quarter of 2021, and the EBIT margin widened by 40 basis points to 7.3%.

Puma's net earnings rose from 48.7 million euros in the second quarter of 2021 to 84.3 million euros this quarter and earnings per share corresponded to 0.56 euros in this period, up from 0.33 euros in the same period of the prior year.

First Half Results

In the first half of the year, sales increased by 19.0% (by 24.7%, as reported), reaching 3.91 million euros, as compared to the same half of the prior year.

Operating result (EBIT) grew by 30.1% from the same period last year to 342.4 million euros in this first half. Net earnings in the period rose by 30.3%, totalling 205.6 million euros, as compared to the first half of fiscal 2021, and earnings per share were up from 1.06 euros in this period of last year to 1.37 euros in the first half of 2022.

Fiscal 2022 Outlook

"While the first half of the year has been strong, we continue to face increasing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties and challenges. The ongoing COVID-19-related restrictions, particularly in Asian markets, the crisis in Ukraine and persistently high inflation are negatively impacting consumer confidence and demand. In addition, ongoing supply chain constraints and price increases in sourcing and freight are limiting product availability and putting pressure on margins", said the company.

So, for fiscal 2022, Puma is raising its outlook from previously at least 10% currency-adjusted sales growth – with upside potential – to mid-teens currency-adjusted sales growth. It is also expecting EBIT in the range of 600 million to 700 million euros, with a corresponding improvement in net earnings.