By Cecilia Butini
Puma SE on Wednesday reported rising earnings and sales for the third quarter, but said higher sourcing prices due to rising raw materials and freight rates put a strain on margins.
The German sporting-goods company posted net profit of 146.4 million euros ($145.9 million) in the quarter, up from EUR143.8 million the year prior, on sales that grew to EUR2.35 billion from EUR1.90 billion the year prior.
Earnings before interest and taxes also rose to EUR258 million from EUR229 million in the third quarter of 2021, the company said.
Gross profit margin decreased by 60 basis points to 46.8%, due to higher sourcing prices connected to raw-material and freight rates, Puma said. Besides these challenges, the Ukraine war, the global energy crisis and Covid-19 restrictions in China are also affecting the business, and inventory levels have remained high, the company said.
Nonetheless, it backed its outlook for 2022, saying that it continues to expect currency-adjusted mid-teens sales growth, EBIT in the range of EUR600 million to EUR700 million. However, inflationary pressures from higher freight rates and raw-material prices, Covid-19 and the Ukraine war are still expected to dilute profitability through the year, Puma said.
Write to Cecilia Butini at cecilia.butini@wsj.com
