Admin I Wednesday, March 13, 2024
BERLIN – Fourth-quarter net loss attributable to shareholders at German sportswear maker Adidas declined to €379 million ($414 million) from last year’s €512 million, the company said on Wednesday, projecting overall growth for the fiscal year 2024.
Loss per share was €2.13, compared to a loss of €2.87 per share a year ago. Net loss from continuing operations in the quarter amounted to €401 million or €2.36 per share, narrower than last year’s loss of €482 million or €2.69 per share.
Adidas recorded an operating loss of €377 million, down from the prior year’s operating loss of €724 million. This resulted in a negative operating margin of 7.8%, compared to a negative operating margin of 13.9% a year earlier.
Revenue declined 8% to €4.81 billion from last year’s €5.21 billion.Currency-neutral revenues in the fourth quarter declined 2%.
Adidas said its executive and supervisory boards will recommend paying a stable dividend of €0.70 per dividend-entitled share to shareholders at the annual general meeting on May 16.
Looking ahead to the fiscal year 2024, the company expects to generate an operating profit of around €500 million, compared to €268 million in 2023, with currency-neutral sales expected to grow at a mid-single-digit rate in 2024.
This top-line guidance assumes that Adidas will sell the remaining Yeezy inventory at cost, the remaining products from its cancelled partnership with controversial rapper Kanye West.
Excluding the Yeezy revenues in both years, the top-line guidance reflects currency-neutral growth at a high-single-digit rate in the underlying Adidas business.
The company said it sees some growth already in the first quarter, but growth is expected to be stronger in the second half of the year.
