BERLIN (Reuters) – German sportswear company Puma cut its profit outlook for 2015 on Wednesday after the strong U.S. dollar hit its first-quarter earnings.
Puma, which is due to report full quarterly results on Friday and holds its annual general meeting later on Wednesday, said it expected net profit to fall 30 percent to 24.8 million euros (18 million pounds) on sales of 821.4 million.
The sportswear industry sources the vast majority of products from Asia in U.S. dollar contracts, while Puma makes a large portion of its sales in euros.
As a result of currency effects, particularly the stronger U.S. dollar, it now expects its gross profit margin to fall 100 to 150 basis points from 46.6 percent last year, compared with previous guidance for a slight increase.
It expects operating earnings of between 80 and 100 million euros, while it continues to expect an increase in a medium single-digit range for full-year currency-adjusted net sales.