Puma Raises Guidance as Q3 Sales Vault 17%

Puma raised 2019 sales guidance on Thursday, projecting growth of 15 percent, up from an earlier projection of 10 to 13 percent in the first half of the year. “The third quarter developed very positively for us and ended as the best quarter that Puma has ever achieved — both in terms of revenue and EBIT,” chief executive Bjørn Gulden said in a statement. Sales in the third quarter vaulted 17 percent to 1.48 billion and grew in all regions and across all product divisions. Over the past nine months, sales increased 16 percent to 4.02 billion. Gross profit margin rose in Q3 to 49.7 percent. EBIT jumped 25 percent to hit 162 million. Puma’s biggest growth continues to come in the Americas and Asia-Pacific, with China particularly positive, echoing results at luxury firm Hermès, also reported Thursday. Revenues shot up 26.5 percent at constant currency in Asia-Pacific and 18 percent in the Americas. The EMEA region — Europe, Middle East and Africa — remained the weakest, with currency adjusted growth of 8 percent. Puma conceded that its main challenge in the next months will be U.S.-China trade tensions that saw 15 percent tariffs imposed on goods coming out of China this September. Puma’s margins are good,

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