German sportswear giant Puma's sales grow 1.6% to €8,602 mn in FY23

Despite the extraordinary 54 per cent devaluation of the Argentine peso in December 2023 and the application of hyperinflationary accounting, Puma's EBIT remained within the outlook, although the devaluation significantly impacted the financial result. As a result, the net income for FY23 was approximately €305 million, correlating with the change in EBIT, the company said in a press release.

Excluding the impact of the Argentine peso's devaluation, Puma would have reported over 8 per cent currency-adjusted sales growth and an EBIT higher than the previous year’s €641 million. However, the fourth quarter (Q4) saw a decline in sales due to hyperinflationary accounting, with currency-adjusted sales dropping around 4 per cent to approximately €1,982 million. Despite this, EBIT for Q4 was strong at approximately €94 million. The Argentine peso's devaluation particularly affected the Q4 financial result, leading to a net income of about €0.8 million.

Looking ahead, Puma remains optimistic for FY24, expecting a mid-single-digit currency-adjusted sales growth and an EBIT in the range of €620 million to €700 million.

“Our underlying operating performance was strong in 2023 and showed that we were well on track to meet all expectations. The accounting treatment of the hyperinflationary economy Argentina and its significant devaluation of the Argentine peso mid of December resulted in an extraordinary impact on fourth quarter and financial year results for 2023. Due to the magnitude and timing of this currency effect, we could not fully compensate the entire impact at the year-end,” said Arne Freundt, CEO of Puma.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)