Puma SE Chief Executive Bjorn Gulden said Wednesday that the coronavirus pandemic is still harming its supply chains while inflation is hurting costs and margins.
The German sporting-goods company said net profit slipped to 7.9 million euros ($8.9 million) in the fourth quarter of 2021 from EUR24.7 million a year earlier.
Sales climbed to EUR1.77 billion from EUR1.52 billion, while earnings before interest and taxes rose slightly to EUR65 million, in line with preliminary figures from January.
Puma said it would propose a dividend of EUR0.72 a share for 2021, up from EUR0.16 a share for 2020.
“At the start of 2022, Covid-19 is unfortunately still negatively affecting our supply chain, inflationary pressures are having a negative impact on our costs and operating margins and the geopolitical situation remains very tense," Mr. Gulden said.
For 2022, Puma expects currency-adjusted sales growth of at least 10%, and EBIT of between EUR600 million and EUR700 million, and net profit improving accordingly.
However, the company expects inflation from higher freight rates and raw-material prices, combined with the pandemic, to dilute profitability in 2022.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text
