PUMA achieves Full-Year Guidance - New strategic direction “Forever Faster” successfully launched

2014 Fourth Quarter Facts

 

• Consolidated sales grow to € 751 million, a currency adjusted increase of 6.3%

 

• Positive trend in Footwear continues in Q4, up 4.3% currency adjusted

 

• Improvement of gross profit margin from 43.2% to 45.0%

 

• OPEX increase mainly due to “Forever Faster” marketing campaign

 

• EBIT before special items improves to € 11 million compared to € 1 million in Q4 2013

 

• Strong rise of net earnings due to special items booked in Q4 prior year

 

• Rihanna announced as new PUMA Brand Ambassador

 

2014 Full Year Facts

 

• PUMA’s full-year consolidated net sales increase by 3.3% currency adjusted to around

 

€ 3 billion

 

• Slight improvement of gross profit margin to 46.6% despite adverse currency fluctuations

 

• OPEX rise as planned due to “Forever Faster” marketing campaign as well as new sponsoring contracts

 

• EBIT reaches € 128 million

 

• Net earnings (2014: € 64.1 million; PY: € 5.3 million) and EPS (2014: € 4.29; PY:

 

€ 0.36) improved strongly; no special items booked in 2014

 

Key sales figures at a glance

 

Bjørn Gulden, Chief Executive Officer of PUMA SE: “The fourth quarter developed as we had hoped, with a solid increase in sales and even stronger improvement in EBIT and net earnings. We are especially pleased to see that we again, for the second quarter in a row, had growth in our footwear sales. Our full-year results are also in line with expectations. We stopped the decline in sales and made progress with all our strategic priorities. We now have a clear positioning, which will be strengthened through increased investment into marketing and a clear use and celebration of our assets. We are further focusing on communicating stories clearly. We have made strides in improving our product and are working with our retailers to further improve the quality of our distribution. Additionally, we have started to improve our IT foundation and operations, to ensure a faster, leaner, and more efficient set up in the coming years. In 2015, we will continue to work towards our mission of becoming the Fastest Sports Brand in the world while further improving our business along all strategic priorities. The addition of Rihanna, as a Brand Ambassador and as one of our creative directors, is a commitment to our increased focus on the female consumer segment, as we truly believe that the "future is female". We know that the turnaround will take time but feel that 2014 was a turning point. We expect 2015 to confirm that we are moving in the right direction.”

 

Media Relations:

 

Kerstin Neuber - Corporate Communications - PUMA SE - +49 9132 81 2984 - kerstin.neuber@puma.com

 

Investor Relations:

 

Beate Gabriel – Finance - PUMA SE - +49 9132 81 2375 – beate.gabriel@puma.com

 

Notes to the editors:

 

• This press release and financial reports are posted on www.about.puma.com.

 

• PUMA SE stock symbol:

 

Reuters: PUMG.DE, Bloomberg: PUM GY,

 

Börse Frankfurt: ISIN: DE0006969603– WKN: 6969603

 

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