BJØRN GULDEN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF PUMA SE:

“We have had a very good start into 2022. Despite of all the obstacles and uncertainties, we achieved a sales growth of 20% to € 1,912 million and an EBIT growth of 27% to € 196 million in the first quarter. The demand for our products was high, both from retailers and consumers, and our operations people were able to move enough product through a tight supply chain to partly fulfill this increasing demand. I am very happy to see that the growth is coming from all product divisions and all business units. We have had the highest growth rates in the performance categories like Running, Football, Basketball and Golf, which confirms that our investments into innovation and marketing are paying off. Based on such a strong first quarter, we would normally raise our outlook for the full year. But given the increased uncertainty in the world, we have decided to stick to our initial outlook from the beginning of this year. The COVID-19 outbreak in China, the crisis in Ukraine, a very tight freight situation and inflationary pressures are all uncertainties that force us to remain very flexible and to manage our business as well as possible in the short-term without hindering PUMA’s mid-term momentum. We see further upside on the revenue side, but also increased pressure on our OPEX and gross margin due to all the uncertainties. In this situation, we will continue to prioritize market share gains and our mid-term growth potential over short-term profit optimization. We will also continue to prioritize the health and safety of our people and not save on anything here. Now, this is especially important for all our employees and their families in Ukraine. The PUMA Family means more than profitability.”