PUMA NEWS

PUMA’s Creative Director Hussein Chalayan to Acquire Stake in Fashion Company Chalayan LLP

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 0:00:00 GMT

The Sportlifestyle company PUMA AG and Chalayan LLP, the owner of the Hussein Chalayan fashion brand, announce today that Hussein Chalayan has acquired PUMA’s stake in the Fashion Company Chalayan LLP.

As the Creative Director of PUMA and being responsible for overseeing design, creation and development of PUMA’s Sportlifestyle collections, Hussein Chalayan will from now on manage the Hussein Chalayan brand independently from PUMA.

PUMA’s Urban Mobility Collection will be the next line developed by Hussein Chalayan and will be available in stores Spring/ Summer 2010.

Media Contact:

Ulf Santjer - Corporate Communications - PUMA - +49 9132 81 2489 – ulf.santjer@puma.com

PUMA AND UNEP ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP TO SUPPORT THE 2010 INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF BIODIVERSITY

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 0:00:00 GMT

PUMA and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) were joined today by the Indomitable Lions – Cameroon’s national football team – with team captain Samuel Eto’o, to announce a strategic partnership to support biodiversity worldwide and specific initiatives in Africa.

The ‘Play for Life’ partnership will support the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity by raising awareness about habitat and species conservation among football fans and the general public during worldwide football events, including the Orange Cup of African Nations in Angola later this month and international friendly games leading up to the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa. With 12 African football team sponsorships to its name and a history of innovation with Africa, PUMA is uniquely positioned to help drive this effort with UNEP.

The International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) is a global initiative launched by the United Nations for 2010 to help raise awareness on the importance of biodiversity and to encourage worldwide action to conserve plants and animals and the environments in which they live. The ‘Play for Life’ campaign focuses on Africa, a continent that hosts exceptional biodiversity including two of the five most important wilderness areas on Earth – the Congo Basin, and Miombo-Mopane Woodlands and Savannas of Southern Africa. Nine of the planet’s 35 Biodiversity hotspots, the richest and most threatened reservoirs of plant and animal life on Earth, are also in Africa.

According to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), biodiversity is under threat around the planet – we are creating the greatest extinction crisis since the natural disaster that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Species have been disappearing at up to 1,000 times the natural rate, and this is predicted to rise dramatically. Based on current trends, an estimated 34,000 plant and 5,200 animal species - including one in eight of the world's bird species - face extinction.

At their ‘Play for Life’ press conference held today in Nairobi, Kenya, PUMA unveiled their key fundraising lever, the revolutionary new Africa Unity Kit --the world’s first ‘continental football kit’ designed to be worn by the 12 African football national teams that PUMA sponsors. These include the World Cup qualified teams Ghana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Algeria who are headed to the Africa Cup of Nations’ with hosts Angola and the national teams of Egypt, Mozambique, Togo and Tunisia, as well as non-qualified federations of Senegal, Morocco and Namibia. Puma also sponsors some of the continent’s best players -- Samuel Eto’o, Emmanuel Eboué and John Mensah.

The Africa Unity Kit has been approved by FIFA who have officially recognised it as the Official 3^rd kit* to be worn by those PUMA-sponsored African teams.

With all eyes on Africa during the 2010 football season– the Africa Unity Kit makes a compelling global statement. By supporting the Africa Unity Kit, African teams are not only uniting as a powerful force in world football, but also raising awareness of the importance of environmental issues. PUMA’s profits from sales of the replica fanwear for the Unity Kits will help fund biodiversity programs in Africa, and in particular endangered species on the continent such as lions, elephants, gorillas and the desert fox.

The sportlifestyle company has a host of other gear designed to generate additional funds to support biodiversity, including PUMA Unity t-shirts and PUMA Lacelets, collectable shoe laces featuring patterns from world-renowned artist Kehinde Wiley. These products all bear the PUMA Yellow “life” Label, which gives consumers an easy way to identify products that benefit projects supported by PUMAVision, PUMA's Corporate Social Responsibility Program. A portion of the profits from the Yellow “life” label products will also go to fund the biodiversity programmes.

"In 2010, Africa will be at the centre of the footballing world. The ‘Play for Life’ campaign and the release of the Africa Unity Kit is a powerful statement for PUMA. PUMA is creating a unique kit embracing the diversity of African Nations teams while valuing the unity of players and supporters towards a common goal,” said Jochen Zeitz, Chairman and CEO, PUMA AG who helped launch the Africa Unity Kit. “Biodiversity and therefore valuing and protecting all life on our planet is a huge issue, not only in Africa, but around the world - and we are proud to partner with UNEP to raise both awareness and funds through the sale of our Unity products.”

“As the whole planet comes together for the World Cup, 2010 marks the year when people around the world will unite to conserve the planet’s almost priceless natural resource - its biodiversity. UNEP is delighted to partner with PUMA to bring this important message to millions of fans,” said Angela Cropper, UNEP’s Deputy Executive Director, at the press conference today.

“The planet’s living organisms are the building blocks of the multi-trillion dollar services-- from freshwater to agricultural nutrients--that underpin all life on Earth including its economic, social and sporting life. Bringing together the public’s global passion for football with its global passion for animals, plants and other life-forms surely makes a match-winning team,” she added.

Cameroon’s captain Samuel Eto’o, flanked by fellow squad members at the unveiling in Nairobi, commented: “The new Africa Unity Kit has inspired me and my teammates. Not only are we very proud to wear a shirt that helps bring the continent of Africa together but to do so for such an important cause is truly an honour. Supporting the Africa Unity Kit sends out a positive message for Africa – we are a uniting as a continent to help life and the planet.”

The UNEP-PUMA ‘Play for Life’ campaign will support the International Year of Biodiversity by:

- Raising awareness worldwide about biodiversity and the International Year of Biodiversity among football fans and the general public during football events including the African Nations Cup and international friendly games

- Raising awareness through Public Service Announcements featuring football stars

- Encouraging the public to take action to conserve biodiversity

- Raising funds through the Africa Unity Kit and other PUMA Unity football products under the Yellow “life” label to support biodiversity projects in Africa.

Please Visit: www.pumafootball.com, www.unep.org, http://vision.puma.com

###

For More Information Please Contact:

Sara Gottman, International PR, PUMA, +617.488.2914, sara.gottman@puma.com

Kevin Gannon, Edelman PR, +44 796 869 7033, kevin.gannon@edelman.com

Nick Nuttall, Spokesperson/Head of Media, UNEP, + 254 (0) 733 632755, nick.nuttall@unep.org

Anne-France White, UNEP Information Officer, +254 (0) 728 600 494,

anne-france.white@unep.org

NOTES TO EDITORS:

*Football teams have standard home and away kits. The third kit is traditionally worn when both the home and away kits clash. PUMA has given a new twist to the third kit, by launching the Africa Unity Kit, creating the world’s first ‘continental’ kit. This third kit will be worn by PUMA-sponsored African teams in 2010 in matches yet to be finalized.

PUMA

PUMA is one of the world’s leading sportlifestyle companies that designs and develops footwear, apparel and accessories. It is committed to working in ways that contribute to the world by supporting Creativity, SAFE Sustainability and Peace, and by staying true to the values of being Fair, Honest, Positive and Creative in decisions made and actions taken. PUMA starts in Sport and ends in Fashion. Its Sport Performance and Lifestyle labels include categories such as Football, Running, Motorsports, Golf and Sailing. The Black label features collaborations with renowned designers such as Alexander McQueen, Yasuhiro Mihara and Sergio Rossi. The PUMA Group owns the brands PUMA, Tretorn and Hussein Chalayan. The company, which was founded in 1948, distributes its products in more than 120 countries, employs more than 9,000 people worldwide and has headquarters in Herzogenaurach/Germany, Boston, London and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.puma.com.

UNEP

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the voice for the environment in the UN system. Established in 1972, UNEP's mission is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. UNEP is an advocate, educator, catalyst and facilitator promoting the wise use of the planet’s natural assets for sustainable development. It works with many partners, UN entities, international organizations, national governments, non-governmental organizations, business, industry, the media and civil society. UNEP's work involves providing support for: environmental assessment and reporting; legal and institutional strengthening and environmental policy development; sustainable use and management of natural resources; integration of economic development and environmental protection; and promoting public participation in environmental management.

PUMA joins Climate Neutral Network of the United Nations Environment Programme

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 0:00:00 GMT

Sportlifestyle brand PUMA will become the first major sportswear company to join the Climate Neutral Network of the United Nations Environment Programme, the company announced at its 7^th annual stakeholder meeting “Talks at Banz” at the Banz monastery in Germany. The cooperation is in line with its sustainability concept PUMAVision and underpins PUMA's efforts to contribute to a low carbon society.

PUMA will reduce its carbon footprint by converting to green energy such as solar power and other renewable sources, optimizing travel and logistics to reduce transport-related emissions and leasing more fuel-efficient cars for its company fleet, among other measures. The plan covers the breadth of PUMA’s worldwide operations, from direct emissions from PUMA’s offices, stores and warehouses to staff business travel and the shipping of goods.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director, said: “By becoming the first global sport brand to join the Climate Neutral Network, PUMA is showing how sport can play a powerful green role in a low-carbon world. Sport has the unique ability to catalyze action among millions of people around the world – we look forward to working with PUMA to green mass sporting events and to engage sports men and women and fans around the world on the environmental challenges facing this generation.”

Jochen Zeitz, CEO of PUMA, said: “We at PUMA constantly strive to make our contribution to environmental protection and mitigate PUMA’s negative impact on our planet. Most scientists agree that the continued unlimited emission of greenhouse gases will lead to irreversible damages to our climate and ecosystem. PUMA’s strategy to reduce its carbon footprint is a significant milestone within our sustainability concept PUMAVision that looks ahead to a world that is safer, more peaceful and more creative for the generations to come.”

The company’s Head Office in Germany already uses renewable energy including concrete core temperature control and solar power for electricity and water heating. Similarly, its Boston office has a large-scale solar power station.

PUMA also helps its suppliers to work actively to reduce their own emissions – its South African supplier, Impahla Clothing, became the first Carbon Neutral apparel supplier on the African continent. In addition, the company says it will work with industry peers to develop a common industry framework and share best practice.

“As a supporter of the UN Global Compact, PUMA endorses the Seal the Deal! Campaign supporting the signing of a binding international agreement on Climate Change following the Kyoto Protocol,” the company says in its carbon neutral strategy.

PUMA AG announces its consolidated financial results for the 3rd Quarter and First Nine Months of 2009

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 0:00:00 GMT

Highlights Third Quarter:

• Consolidated sales at € 673 million, a decline of 5.5% versus last year’s third quarter

• Gross profit margin at 51.9%, up from 50% in the second quarter

• Total operating expenses 2.5% below last year’s level as a result of ongoing cost savings program

• Operating result at € 98 million, reflecting a decrease of 21.6% in the quarter

• EPS at € 4.50 after € 5.81 last year

• Continued strong reduction in inventories and improvement in net cash position

Highlights First Nine Months:

• Global brand sales above € 2 billion

• Consolidated sales slightly up in Euro terms and 2% down currency-adjusted

• Gross profit margin remains above 51%

• Operating result before special items at € 275 million

• EPS before restructuring at € 13.01 after € 14.55 last year

Outlook 2009:

• The ongoing reengineering and restructuring program is expected to continue until the end of 2009

• The strong emphasis on improving working capital and focus on cash generating activities seen in the first three quarters will continue as planned

Jochen Zeitz, CEO: “The business environment has continued to be as challenging as we had expected, which resulted in a decrease in sales and profits. Despite this most difficult market, we generated a profit in all three quarters so far and we expect to be profitable in Q4 again. We hope to see first signs of an improving business environment in the run up to the Football World Cup in South Africa, where PUMA through its strong ties with African Football has a home field advantage.”

Sales and Earnings Development

Global Brand Sales

PUMA’s brand sales in the third quarter, which include consolidated and license sales, decreased by 7.6% in Euro terms, or by 8.3% currency-adjusted, to € 719.6 million.

After nine months, global brand sales declined currency-neutral 4.8%. In Euro terms, sales decreased by 2.6% to € 2,093.8 million. On a currency-neutral basis, Footwear sales were down by 5.3% to € 1,113.7 million and Apparel sales by 6.2% to € 719.1 million. Accessories sales increased by 1.3% to € 260.9 million.

Consolidated Sales

Consolidated sales in the third quarter decreased by 6.3% currency-neutral or by 5.5% in Euro terms to € 673.4 million. On a currency-neutral basis, Footwear sales were down by 13.0% at € 358.7 million, and Apparel sales decreased by 5.2% to € 238.1 million. Due to first time consolidations, Accessories sales improved significantly by 38.5% to € 76.6 million.

After the first nine months, consolidated sales were down by 2.0% on a currency-neutral basis but increased by 0.4% in Euro terms to € 1,971.1 million. Sales in EMEA and Asia/Pacific were below last year’s level. Sales in the Americas region, however, increased despite the challenging market environment. Footwear sales were down by 5.6% currency-neutral at € 1,085.8 million. Apparel sales decreased by 6.3% to € 664.3 million on high comparables last year after the Football Euro 2008 generated strong replica sales. Accessories sales increased significantly by 45.3% to € 221.0 million.

Gross Profit Margin

In the third quarter, the gross profit margin decreased from 53.6% last year to 51.9%. This decline mainly derives from further inventory reduction programs and changes in the product and regional mix, as well as higher raw material costs. After the first nine months, PUMA achieved a gross profit margin of 51.4% versus 53.2% last year. Footwear reported 50.2% compared to 53.1%, Apparel 52.2% versus 53.3% and Accessories increased to 54.8% from 53.3% last year.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses decreased by 2.5% to € 256.9 million in the third quarter. During the first nine months, operating expenses remained at last year’s level of € 753.1 million, representing a cost ratio of 38.2% versus last year’s 38.3%.

Marketing/Retail expenses decreased by 4.7% to € 374.9 million mainly as a result of last year’s higher spending level in relation to the Olympic Games and Football Euro Cup. The cost ratio declined from 20.0% to 19.0% of sales. Other selling expenses increased by 10.4% to € 240.3 million, or from 11.1% to 12.2% of sales. Product development and design increased from 13.6% to € 43.4 million, or as a percentage of sales from 1.9% to 2.2%. Other general and administration expenses were down by 7.2% at € 94.6 million, representing 4.8% of sales versus 5.2% last year. Depreciation increased by 10.4% to € 44.7 million due to full year effects from last year’s retail expansion.

Operating Result before Special Items

Amid lower sales combined with the softened margin in the quarter, the operating result came in at € 98.0 million in the quarter versus € 125.0 million last year. As a percentage of sales, it fell to 14.5% from 17.5% last year.

After nine months, the operating result was down by 12.2% at € 275.1 million from € 313.2 million, while the operating margin was still double-digit with 14.0% versus 16.0% last year.

Special Items – Reengineering and Restructuring Program

The reengineering and restructuring program, which resulted in a one-time charge of € 110 million in the first quarter, will continue as planned and should be largely finalized by the end of 2009. The program will provide for a more efficient, leaner and faster business platform to adjust to the current market conditions.

Considering the restructuring charge, EBIT for the first nine months totaled € 165.1 million compared to € 313.2 million last year.

Financial Result

Due to lower interest rates and the accumulation of interest on purchase price liabilities from acquisitions, the financial result in the third quarter was at € -1.9 million versus € -0.5 million in last year’s quarter. After nine months the financial result stood at € -5.6 million compared to a slightly positive € 0.5 million last year.

Earnings

The company’s pre-tax profit (EBT) was € 96.0 million in the third quarter versus € 124.5 million last year. Net earnings totaled € 67.9 million versus € 89.0 million, a decline of 23.6%. This translated into earnings per share of € 4.50 compared to € 5.81.

Before restructuring costs, EBT came in at € 269.4 million versus € 313.7 million for the first nine months and net earnings totaled € 196.3 million versus € 224.7 million, representing a decline of 12.6%. Earnings per share were at € 13.01 compared to € 14.55. The operational tax ratio was calculated at 27.9% versus last year’s 28.7%.

Taking the restructuring costs into account, EBT was € 159.4 million and net earnings were € 112.0 million with earnings per share at € 7.42 versus € 14.55 last year, a decline of 49.0%.

Regional Development

In the EMEA region, third quarter sales decreased by 3.1% currency-neutral and totaled € 366.4 million in the third quarter. While the sales performance in Western Europe was impacted by promotional sales due to the current market situation, the EEMEA region managed to stay on prior year level. After nine months, sales were down by 2.6% to € 1,020.8 million, representing 51.8% of consolidated sales. Gross profit margin was at 53.2% compared to 55.2% last year.

Sales in the Americas were down by 11.2% currency-adjusted at € 165.4 million in the third quarter. After nine months, however, sales rose by 1.6% to € 512.1 million. The region now accounts for 26.0% of consolidated sales. Gross profit margin was at 47.9% compared to 48.9% last year.

In the US market, sales decreased by 11.3% to $ 129.5 million in the third quarter and by 1.4% to $ 400.9 million after nine months. For the Latin American region this quarter was characterized by the convergence of increased import restrictions and other conditions which had negative impacts on sales performance.

In the Asia/Pacific region, sales fell by 8.3% in the third quarter currency-neutral, but increased in Euro terms by 1.2% to € 141.6 million. After nine months, sales were down by 4.7% currency-neutral but increased by 8.5% in Euro terms to € 438.2 million, representing 22.2% of consolidated sales. Gross profit margin reached 51.1% versus 53.1% last year.

Net Assets and Financial Position

Equity

As of September 30, 2009, total assets were up by 7.9% to € 2,057.5 million. Based on the higher balance sheet total, the equity ratio stood at 59.1% after 62.3% in the previous year.

Working Capital

PUMA adhered to its plan to significantly reduce inventory, which improved by 17.5% to € 356.4 million. Accounts receivable were slightly below last year’s level at € 530.7 million. Working capital improved to € 523.3 million (ex acquisition € 507.6 million) from € 599.6 million last year – showing again a significant enhancement compared to previous quarters and thus underpinning our strong focus on managing working capital.

Capex/Cashflow

In the first nine months, the company invested € 40.8 million versus € 79.1 million last year. The reduction in capital expenditure together with a solid improvement in working capital led to a strong increase in PUMA’s free cashflow of € 145.1 million from € 17.2 million, showing a strong enhancement compared to last year. An outflow of € 75.8 million versus € 24.9 million last year is related to acquisitions. Taking these acquisitions into account, the free cashflow amounted to € 69.4 million versus an outflow of € 7.7 million last year.

Cash Position

Given the strong focus on cash management, total cash at the end of September rose from € 297.3 million to € 376.9 million and bank debts declined from € 61.1 million to € 37.4 million this year. As a result, net cash was up from € 236.2 million to € 339.5 million this year, a respectable increase of 43.7%.

Outlook 2009 - Market environment remains challenging in Q4

The market and consumer environment is expected to remain challenging. The reengineering and restructuring program is planned to be finalized by the end of the year and will generate improvements in efficiency and cost savings in the future.

PUMA opens Milestone Development Center in Vietnam

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 0:00:00 GMT

After just a year of construction works, sportlifestyle company PUMA officially opened its new cutting-edge Development Center in Vietnam – representing a milestone in the Sportlifestyle and sporting goods industry. The whole complex will be the new home for footwear and apparel prototype and sample suppliers covering 85% of PUMA’s footwear and 15% of PUMA’s apparel development needs. Furthermore integrated in the new complex are material and component suppliers as well as Sourcing, Engineering, Material Management, Laboratory and Research & Development Centers of PUMA’s sourcing organisation World Cat. Before PUMA brought all these facilities together under one roof, they had been spread all over Asia.

“PUMA’s new development center PUMA Village sets unprecedented standards in our industry,” said Jochen Zeitz, Chairman and CEO of PUMA. “This trend-setting concept of a product development center with over 40 PUMA suppliers under one roof, working tightly together, will increase PUMA’s speed to market, reduces our cost base and makes sure that our products are of excellent quality. It underpins PUMA’s current restructuring efforts to streamline our business operations throughout all steps of the value chain.”

“After three years of planning und building we have created a unique place for all our creative people to work directly with the prototype factories in a fast and professional way. Nearly all of our product categories as well as technologies will be developed at the PUMA Village in order to ensure that our entire product service and product quality goals are achieved”, said Reiner Seiz, Chief Supply Chain Officer of PUMA.

In line with PUMA’s sustainability concept PUMAVision, PUMA Village features a number of environmentally friendly assets. On top of the building, a water reservoir was installed for collecting rain water during all seasons of the year and especially during the rainy season from May to November. This water will be used to complement the water supply, for cooling purposes in the hot season as well as for gardening. In terms of energy saving a louver was installed to protect the office and factory building from direct sunlight which reduces the heating up of the building. Solar panels provide energy for warm water consumption and air-conditioning.

puma.safe, the department of Social and Environmental Affairs, is based in PUMA Village as well. puma.safe works towards raising work and production standards worldwide, developing new sustainable products and reducing our carbon footprint. As all of PUMA’s manufacturers have to adhere to PUMA’s environmental and safety standards, all manufacturing units and their workers based in PUMA Village have to comply with PUMA’s standards as well. A special on Health & Safety educated officer will permanently monitor the General Constructor’s working team, making sure that all standards are being adhered to during the production processes.