Herzogenaurach, Germany — Adidas saw sales increase 19% in euro terms to EUR 5.7 bn in the first quarter of 2017.
The company said that this reflects an 18% increase at brand Adidas as well as 13% at the Reebok brand, compared to the first quarter of 2016. The company's growth was particularly strong in e-commerce, Adidas said. Here revenues grew 53% in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016.
Kaspar Rorsted, ceo said: “as consumer demand for our products was stronger across the world, we were again able to significantly improve our profitability despite ongoing currency headwinds."
Sales of Adidas and Reebok grew in all market segments except Russia. Adidas said that sales grew 31% in North America, 30% in greater China, 21% in Japan and 15% in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Western Europe and Latin America regions also saw growth of 10% and 9% respectively, compared to the first quarter of 2016. This is despite, what Adidas characterised as a “hard comparison with the first quarter of 2016” where the firm “saw a sell-out of UEFA Euro 2016 and the Copa America related products.
Russian sales are down, compared to the first quarter of 2016, because of "challenging consumer sentiment as well as additional store closures," the company said.
The first quarter of 2017 saw Adidas brand product sales reached EUR 4.8 bn compared to EUR 4.0 bn in the first quarter of 2016 a 20% rise, while the Reebok branded products grew 18% to EUR 492 m from EUR 416 m in the first quarter of 2016.
Over the course of 2017, Adidas said it expects sales to grow at between 11% and 13% on a currency-neutral basis driven by double-digit growth in Western Europe, North America and greater China. Additionally, the firm said its gross margin is likely to grow by 0.5% to 49.1% over the course of 2017. This would be because of better pricing, product and original mixes improving and further enhancement in terms of the most profitable channels to market.
However, the weaker dollar will hit the firm as it will have to pay more for Asian-dominated sourcing. Labour costs are expected to rise too, the firm added.
Net income from continuing operations is projected to increase at between 18% to 20% for the year to around EUR 1.2 bn.
