Puma Delivers Strong Growth in Sales and Profitability in 2018

• Sales increase by 20.1% currency adjusted to € 1,226 million (+17.9% reported) with strong growth in all regions and product segments
• Gross profit margin remains stable at a high level of 47.1% 
• Operating expenses (OPEX) increase by 17.1% due to higher sales related variable costs as well as higher marketing and retail investments
• Operating result (EBIT) improves from € 30 million last year to € 38 million 
• Strong sell-through of newly launched footwear franchises RS-X and Cali
• PUMA sponsored team Denmark wins Handball World Cup 

• Full-year sales increase by 17.6% currency adjusted to € 4,648 million (+12.4% reported) with double-digit growth in all regions and product segments
• Gross profit margin improves by 110 basis points to 48.4%, supported by higher margins in all product segments
• Increase in operating expenses of 11.8% provides slight operating leverage
• Operating result (EBIT) improves strongly by 37.9% from € 245 million to € 337 million 
• Net earnings and earnings per share increase by 38.0% from € 135.8 million to € 187.4 million and from € 9.09 to € 12.54 respectively
• Free Cashflow improves from € 128 million to € 173 million 
• A dividend of € 3.50 per share for 2018 to be proposed at the Annual General Meeting
• PUMA share returns to M-DAX in June 2018
• Strong new styles Thunder, RS-0 and RS-X established in the “chunky shoe” category
• PUMA re-enters basketball category after 20 years
• PUMA signs supermodel Adriana Lima as women’s training ambassador

“We are very happy with how our business developed in 2018. Sales rose organically by 17.6% to €4,648 million and the operating result (Ebit) improved by 37.9% % to €337 million, which  shows our strong momentum.
The double-digit growth in all regions is a proof that the we have strenghtened the PUMA brand globally and the double-digit growth in all product divisions shows that we have enhanced our product portfolio.
We still have a lot to improve, but we feel we are moving our brand and company in a good direction. We see that our progress will also continue in 2019 and expect our currency adjusted sales to grow around 10% and our operating result to increase to a range between €395 million and €415 million.”