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Footwear retailer Puma has seen its shares drop 2.66% in early trading after forecasting a slowdown in sales and profit growth for 2019, despite a 20.1% sales increase, adjusted to €1,226m (£1,079m), during Q4 2018.
For the full year in 2019, the retailer expects currency-adjusted sales growth of around 10%, and has forecast that gross profit margin will show a “slight improvement” compared with last year (2018: 48.4%) and operating expenses (OPEX) to increase at a slightly lower rate than sales.
The positive growth during the Q4 was driven by sales of its newly launched footwear franchises RS-X and Cali. Gross profit margin remained stable at 47.1% and operating result (EBIT) increased from €30m (£26m) last year to €38m (£33m) during the final quarter of 2018.
According to the group, sales growth was particularly strong in the Asia/Pacific region followed by the Americas, both increasing at double-digit rates, and both apparel and footwear showed strong growth in the fourth quarter of 2018 – improving 28.6% and 17.4% respectively.
The retailer also posted its full-year results for 2018, which saw sales increase by 17.6%, adjusted to €4,648m (£4,092m), with double-digit growth in all regions and product segments. Gross profit margin improved by 110 basis points to 48.4%, supported by higher margins in all product segments.
Bjørn Gulden, CEO of Puma SE, said: “We are very happy with how our business developed in 2018. Sales rose organically by 17.6% to €4,648m and the operating result (EBIT) improved by 37.9% to €337m, which shows our strong momentum.
“The double-digit growth in all regions is a proof that the we have strengthened the Puma brand globally and the double-digit growth in all product divisions shows that we have enhanced our product portfolio.”
He added: “We still have a lot to improve, but we feel we are moving our brand and company in a good direction. We see that our progress will also continue in 2019 and expect our currency adjusted sales to grow around 10% and our operating result to increase to a range between €395m and €415m.”
