DGAP-News: PUMA SE
/ Key word(s): Annual Results
PRESS RELEASE Q4 AND FULL YEAR 2019 Herzogenaurach, February 19, 2020 2019 Fourth Quarter Facts - Sales increase by 20.6% reported to € 1,479 million (+18.3% currency adjusted) with double-digit growth in all regions and product divisions - Gross profit margin improves to 47.3% - Operating expenses (OPEX) increase by 19.4% reported due to higher sales-related costs as well as higher marketing and retail investments - Operating result (EBIT) up by 46.8% to € 55 million - In Formula 1, PUMA athlete Lewis Hamilton wins drivers championship for the sixth time and PUMA team Mercedes AMG Petronas wins the constructors'championship - PUMA and BALMAIN join together to debut their first collaboration, created with Cara Delevingne - PUMA partners with Grammy-winning artist J. Cole - PUMA announces partnerships with German Handball Federation (DHB) and football club PSV Eindhoven, both starting in July 2020 2019 Full Year Facts - Sales increase by 18.4% reported to € 5,502 million (+16.7% currency adjusted) - Gross profit margin up by 40 basis points at 48.8% - Operating expenses (OPEX) increase by 17.8% (reported) at a slightly lower rate than reported sales - Operating result (EBIT) improves by 30.5% from € 337 million to € 440 million - Net earnings increase by 40.0% from € 187 million last year to € 262 million and earnings per share increase from € 1.25 last year to € 1.76 correspondingly - Proposal of an increased dividend of € 0.50 per share for 2019 at the Annual General Meeting (2018: € 0.35 per share) Bjørn Gulden, Chief Executive Officer of PUMA SE: "2019 ended with a very strong fourth quarter for us with revenues being up 20.6% reported (18.3% currency adjusted) and EBIT up 47%. All regions and all product divisions were up by double digits. This made 2019 the best year in PUMA's history with a revenue of € 5.5 billion Sales Development: Fourth Quarter 2019 The gross profit margin improved to 47.3% in the fourth quarter (last year: 47.1%). Small positive mix effects as well as slightly positive currency effects led to margin improvements. Operating expenses (OPEX) rose by 19.4% to € 650.6 million in the fourth quarter. The increase was mainly caused by higher sales-related costs, including logistics costs as well as higher marketing and retail investments. The operating result (EBIT) increased by 46.8% from € 37.6 million last year to € 55.2 million due to a strong sales growth combined with an improved gross profit margin and operating leverage. Full Year 2019 In the EMEA region, sales rose by 11.2% reported to € 2,001.4 million (+11.2% currency adjusted). As a result, the EMEA region exceeded the two billion Euro sales mark for the first time. The main growth drivers were Germany, Spain, Russia, and Turkey. In the Americas region, sales increased by 20.6% reported to € 1,944.0 million. Currency adjusted sales increased by 17.9%. Both North America and Latin America contributed with double-digit growth rates. Currency exchange effects for North America were positive, while especially the weakness of the Argentinian Peso led to a negative currency effect on sales for Latin America. The Asia/Pacific region delivered the strongest sales growth of 26.0% reported to € 1,556.9 million. This corresponds to a currency adjusted increase of 22.8%. Growth in the region was mainly driven by China and India. In the Footwear division, sales increased by 16.8% reported to € 2,552.5 million. Currency adjusted sales increased by 15.6%. The strongest growth was achieved in the Sportstyle, Running and Training, and Motorsport categories. In the Apparel division, sales increased by 22.6% reported to € 2,068.7 million (+20.5% currency adjusted) and was also driven especially by strong growth in Sportstyle, Running and Training as well as Motorsport categories. As a result, sales in the Apparel division exceeded the two billion Euro sales mark for the first time. The Accessories division showed a sales increase of 13.5% reported to € 881.1 million. This corresponds to a currency adjusted sales growth of 11.1%. Higher sales of legwear, bodywear and Cobra golf clubs contributed to the increase. Wholesale continued to drive growth with an increase of 15.0% currency adjusted, supported by a strong performance of our key accounts. PUMA's direct-to-consumer sales (owned and operated retail stores and eCommerce) increased by 22.0% currency adjusted to € 1,395.3 million. This was driven by like-for-like sales growth in our own stores, the expansion of our retail store network and a continued strong growth of our eCommerce business. Direct-to-consumer sales represented a share of 25.4% of total sales in 2019 compared to 24.3% in 2018. PUMA's gross profit in the financial year 2019 increased by 19.4% from € 2,249.4 million to Operating expenses (OPEX) increased by 17.8% and amounted to € 2,271.3 million. The increase was driven by higher sales-related variable costs as well as costs related to IT infrastructure, marketing and our own retail business. The OPEX ratio in percent of total sales decreased from 41.5% in 2018 to 41.3% in 2019. The operating result (EBIT) improved by 30.5% from € 337.4 million in 2018 to € 440.2 million in 2019. This was slightly above the upper end of the revised EBIT guidance of € 420 million to € 430 million. This result was achieved through strong sales growth combined with a higher gross profit margin and operating leverage. EBIT margin went up from 7.3% in 2018 to 8.0% in 2019. Despite the additional interest expense of € 29.7 million related to the new accounting standard for leases (IFRS 16), the financial result improved slightly from € -24.0 million in 2018 to € -22.6 million in 2019. This development is the result of gains from currency conversion differences of € 10.2 million in 2019, compared to a loss from the currency conversion of € -14.4 million last year and other improvements of € 6.5 million. The tax rate for the full year 2019 amounted to 26.0% compared to 26.7% last year and the total tax expense increased from € 83.6 million in 2018 to € 108.6 million in 2019. Net earnings rose by 40.0% from € 187.4 million last year to € 262.4 million in 2019. This translated into improved earnings per share of € 1.76 compared to € 1.25 in 2018, considering the 1:10 stock split. Working Capital Proposal of a Dividend of € 0.50 per share Brand and Strategy Update PUMA has set out six strategic priorities: brand heat, a competitive product range, a leading offer for women, improving our distribution quality, organizational speed and building our sports performance credibility in the US through our re-entry into Basketball In our Teamsport category, 2019 started with a big announcement, as we launched our partnership with Manchester City in February. This deal is PUMA's largest ever, both in terms of scope and ambition. We were also excited to welcome Polenergia SA Guardiola, one of the most celebrated football managers in the world, as a brand ambassador. The World Athletics Championships in Doha were an important event for our track and field athletes. PUMA was highly visible during the competition, as we supported a total of 115 athletes and twelve national federations. Norwegian hurdler Karsten Warholm successfully defended his title over 400m hurdles and was later voted European Male Athlete of the Year. During the competition 22 medals were won by athletes wearing PUMA. In June of 2019, PUMA signed rising pole vault star Armand "Mondo" Duplantis, a partnership that already proved very successful. The US-born Swede broke the world record twice in early 2020, most recently setting it at 6 meters 18 at the World Athletics Indoor Tour in Glasgow. PUMA also welcomed new partners in Motorsport. We signed a long-term agreement with Porsche as well as a separate collaboration with Porsche Design to create premium lifestyle products. In our Golf category, we celebrated the 10-year anniversary with golf ambassador Rickie Fowler, one of the most vibrant ambassadors of the brand. The latest addition to our roster of golf players, Gary Woodland, won the US Open in June. One of our most successful Footwear styles in 2019 was the RALPH SAMPSON, a classic basketball silhouette. This shows that were are generating credibility in basketball, which we leverage into other categories. In the "chunky"-shoe category, the RS-X-franchise continued to resonate well with our customers. The CALI franchise, presented by PUMA's ambassador Selena Gomez, continued to do well within the women's lifestyle category. Other key styles included the PUMA FUTURE football boot and running & training shoes based on our LQD CELL and HYBRID technology platforms. In the fourth quarter, we launched the RS-X3, CALI SPORT and the RIDER, which is inspired by one of the jogging shoes launched in the 1980s. With these models, we see ourselves in a good starting position for 2020. Our women's brand ambassadors contributed with individual collections in 2019: Selena Gomez launched her second collection. Cara Delevingne teamed up with PUMA and French luxury fashion house Balmain, while Adriana Lima presented a line of boxing inspired styles. Overall, we saw strong growth across our Apparel portfolio, especially from "Big Cat" logo applications and motorsport. As eSports is becoming increasingly relevant for our consumers, PUMA announced its first-ever partnership in virtual sports with eSports team cloud9. We also, for the first time created products specifically around the needs of eSports athletes and gamers, such as an active gaming seat and a gaming shoe. Through these partnerships, we are in a position to benefit from the fast-growing gaming and eSports markets. In August, we opened our New York flagship store on Fifth Avenue, which provides a deeply immersive brand experience. Customers can find the latest PUMA products, race down the streets of NYC in our Formula 1 race simulators, test the latest PUMA football boots in a virtual San Siro Stadium or personalize their shopping in our customization studio. On the operational side, we continued to invest in our distribution and logistics network. The construction of our new highly automated multichannel distribution center in Geiselwind, Germany is largely finished and the installation of the intralogistics system hast started. Geiselwind is expected to be operational in early 2021 as planned. In addition, PUMA North America announced the opening of a new also highly automated distribution hub just outside of Indianapolis for 2020. In addition to our business priorities, social, economic and environmental sustainability remains a core value for PUMA. In 2019, we already achieved 9 out of our 10FOR20 sustainability targets and developed our next set of targets for 2025, which will be announced in 2020. We continued our leading role in the Fashion Charter for Climate Action under the umbrella of UN Climate and joined the Fashion Pact, a global coalition of fashion companies, suppliers and distributors which seeks to make the industry as a whole more sustainable. Our long-standing social compliance program is recognized by the Fair Labor Association and we have been an accredited member since 2007. Our business developed strongly in 2019, both in terms of sales and profitability. We are confident that the positive development will continue in 2020.
April 30, 2020 Quarterly Statement Q1 2020 May 7, 2020 Annual General Meeting July 29, 2020 Interim Report Q2 2020 October 28, 2020 Quarterly Statement Q3 2020 The financial releases and other financial information are available on the Internet at "about.puma.com". Media Relations: Investor Relations: Notes to the editors: - The financial reports are posted on www.about.puma.com. - PUMA SE stock symbol: Reuters: PUMG.DE, Bloomberg: PUM GY, Notes relating to forward-looking statements:
PUMA is one of the world's leading Sports Brands, designing, developing, selling and marketing footwear, apparel and accessories. For 70 years, PUMA has relentlessly pushed sport and culture forward by creating fast products for the world's fastest athletes. PUMA offers performance and sport-inspired lifestyle products in categories such as Football, Running and Training, Basketball, Golf, and Motorsports. It collaborates with renowned designers and brands to bring sport influences into street culture and fashion. The PUMA Group owns the brands PUMA, Cobra Golf and stichd. The company distributes its products in more than 120 countries, employs more than 13,000 people worldwide, and is headquartered in Herzogenaurach/Germany.
19.02.2020 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. |
Language: | English |
Company: | PUMA SE |
PUMA WAY 1 | |
91074 Herzogenaurach | |
Germany | |
Phone: | +49 9132 81 0 |
Fax: | +49 9132 81 42375 |
E-mail: | investor-relations@puma.com |
Internet: | www.puma.com |
ISIN: | DE0006969603 |
WKN: | 696960 |
Indices: | MDAX |
Listed: | Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Munich; Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange |
EQS News ID: | 978479 |
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