Puma, the German apparel company, saw a drop in its shares on Wednesday following a decline in sales during the fourth quarter. The company attributed its underperformance to the devaluation of the Argentine peso.
At 0924 GMT, Puma’s shares were down 5.6% at EUR40.56, hitting a low of EUR39.37.
Puma reported a decrease in sales of approximately 9.8% in Q4, but on a currency-adjusted basis, the decline was around 4%, amounting to approximately 1.98 billion euros ($2.15 billion). This is a decrease from EUR2.2 billion recorded in the same period last year.
For the full year, Puma achieved sales worth EUR8.60 billion, showing a growth from EUR8.465 billion in 2022. The company stated that sales growth, adjusted for currency fluctuations, was in line with its target range of high single-digit percentage.
EBIT for the fourth quarter stood at around 94 million euros ($102 million), compared to EUR41 million in the previous year. Annual EBIT reached approximately EUR622 million, falling within Puma’s target range of EUR590 million to EUR670 million, but lower than the 2022 figure of EUR640.6 million.
Net income amounted to around EUR350 million, slightly higher than the EUR343 million recorded in 2022.
Puma explained that the extraordinary impact on their Q4 and full-year results for 2023 is due to the accounting treatment of Argentina’s hyperinflationary economy and the significant devaluation of the Argentine peso in mid-December. The company faced challenges compensating for the entire impact by the year-end due to the magnitude and timing of this currency effect.
Looking ahead to 2024, Puma anticipates mid-single-digit currency-adjusted sales growth and expects EBIT to range between EUR620 million and EUR700 million.