Puma SE forecast another slow year of growth in 2025 due to global trade tariffs, currency volatility and geopolitical tensions.
The German sportswear brand expects currency-adjusted sales to grow in the low- to mid-single-digit range, it said in a statement late Tuesday. Revenue is expected to grow about 8 percent this year, according to the average estimate compiled by Bloomberg.
“Puma’s weak 1Q and 2025 trails consensus and suggests spending and cost uncertainty due to economic and trade tensions in the US and China,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Poonam Goyal and Sydney Goodman wrote in a research note.
The company also anticipates one-time costs of as much as €75 million ($82 million) this year as part of efficiency efforts. The cost cuts are expected to add as much as €100 million to earnings, excluding interest and taxes, to this year’s results. For the full year, and including the one-time costs, Puma expects that measure of earnings to be in the range of €445 million to €525 million — well below the previous year’s result.
Sales growth has slowed in chief executive officer Arne Freundt’s two-year tenure. He has said Puma needs to prioritise the buildout of more premium sneaker models that can command higher prices.
Puma shares are down about 32 percent in the past year, trailing the performance of crosstown rival Adidas AG as well as industry leader Nike Inc.
Last month, Freundt promised to give more conservative forecasts after surprising investors with bad news. The latest example came in January, when Puma reported preliminary fourth-quarter figures that disappointed investors just weeks after Freundt had assured them the company was performing well.
The company is due to publish full results on Wednesday.
By Tim Loh
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