Puma SE share price up, announces a 45% Q3 profit decline but boosts full-year sales projection

Puma SE announced that its profit fell during the third quarter at a time of large investments in new products offerings on the market. Apart from revealing its Q3 results, the German sporting-goods manufacturer also increased its full-year sales projection.

The companys Chief Executive Officer Bjoern Gulden said in a statement: “In a good third quarter, Puma achieved sales that were slightly better than expected. Footwear sales were up for the first time in seven quarters, and operating profits met our expectations.”

According to Pumas statement, the companys third-quarter net profit declined by 45% from €53 million posted a year ago to €29 million ($35.9 million).

Puma reported that its operating profit fell by 43% to €46 million ($57 million) due to higher marketing expenses, which were associated primarily with the release of its Forever Faster brand campaign and the collaboration with the English Premier League soccer club Arsenal. In comparison, analysts projections amounted to an average of €57.8 million.

The companys revenue, however, increased by 3.7% and reached €843 million. The sales increase without the negative impact of currency fluctuations was estimated at 6.4%.

Chief Executive Gulden also said: “Things are moving in the right direction but as we have said all along, we know that the repositioning of Puma and the turnaround of the business will take time, as we need to continue to build confidence in the marketplace.”

Apart from reporting quarterly results, Puma also forecast that its full-year sales will increase by a low-single-digit percentage in 2014, on a currency-adjusted basis. In comparison, the previous full-year sales outlook of the Germany-based sporting-goods maker projected flat sales growth.

Puma SE added 3.80% to trade at €181.70 per share at 10:23 GMT in Frankfurt, marking a one year change of -18.63%. The company is valued at €2.64 billion. According to the Financial Times, the 21 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Puma SE have a median target of €190.00, with a high estimate of €247.00 and a low estimate of €140.00. The median estimate represents a 8.54% increase from the previous close of €175.05.