Adidas has today raised its 2024 profit outlook after what the German sportswear giant said was a better than expected first quarter.
In an unscheduled announcement, the company said it now expects full-year operating profit of about €700m, up from €500m previously forecast.
The upbeat comments about 2024 come a month after Adidas posted its first annual loss in more than three decades, warning sales in North America would fall again as sportswear retailers in the US struggle with high inventories.
Currency-neutral sales are expected to rise by a mid-to high single-digit percentage in 2024, up from a mid single-digit rate, it said.
Adidas said its quarterly operating profit reached €336m, up from €60m a year earlier, when it was hit by the break-up with Kanye West and the discontinuation of its Yeezy business.
Adidas further said it sold another €150m worth of Yeezy products in the quarter, for an operating profit of around €50m.
The remainder of Adidas' Yeezy inventory would likely be sold for about €200m later this year, but without any further profit contribution, the company said.
Adidas said it continued to expect unfavourable currency effects to weigh on its profitability this year, a trend that it says would hit "both reported revenues and the gross margin development in 2024".
