HERZOGENAURACH (dpa-AFX) - German sportswear firm Puma AG Rudolf Dassler Sport (PMMAF.PK) reported Tuesday that its third-quarter net earnings rose to 62.1 million euros from 39.5 million euros last year. Earnings per share increased to 4.16 euros from 2.64 euros a year ago.
Operating result or EBIT improved to 101 million euros from last year's 60 million euros.
Gross profit margin went up by 230 basis points to 48.1%.
PUMA's sales rose 13 percent to 1.12 billion euros from prior year's 990.2 million euros. Sales climbed 17.4% on a currency-adjusted basis.
All regions supported the sales growth showing a double-digit increase. Footwear continued to be the main growth driver and Accessories also increased double-digit, while Apparel grew at a more modest rate.
Puma Chief Executive Officer said, 'The third quarter was another good quarter for us with double-digit growth in all regions and strong growth in all product segments. . This development in the third quarter combined with a good orderbook for the fourth quarter made us raise the outlook for the full year.'
As announced on October 18, the company now expects that currency adjusted sales will increase between 14% and 16%, compared to the previous guidance of 12% - 14% growth in currency adjusted sales.
The gross profit margin is now anticipated to improve to approx. 46.5% compared to previous guidance of approx. 46.0%.
The EBIT is now anticipated to come in between 235 million euros and 245 million euros compared to the prior guidance of 205 million euros - 215 million euros.
In line with the previous guidance, the company still expects that net earnings will improve significantly in 2017.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX