PUMA AG announces its consolidated financial results for the 2nd Quarter and 1st Half-Year of 2004

Financial Highlights:

• Branded sales increase 20% in Q2 and 21% ytd.
• Consolidated sales rise 17% in Q2 and 24% ytd.
• Gross profit margin sustained at a high level of 51%.
• EBT increase 41% in Q2 and 53% in the first half.
• EPS increase 47% to €3.43 and by 56% to €8.45 respectively.
  
  

Outlook:

• Due to a strong order intake total future orders are up by 22% end of June.
• New records expected across the board in FY 2004: Sales growth of about 20% and earnings growth of more than 30% now anticipated
  
  

Sales and earnings review

Sales momentum continues

During Q2, consolidated sales increased by 17.1% to €352 million. The Apparel segment realized the strongest growth of 26.3%, reaching €99 million. Footwear was up 13.3% to €229 million and Accessories improved by 19.2% to €25 million. On a currency neutral basis, total sales in Q2 were up 18.3%. Q2 marks the first quarter in which year-to-date comparisons reflect full consolidation of PUMA Japan, as the first-time consolidation took place April 1 of last year. Sales in the first half of 2004 grew by 23.6% to €796 million; this marks a currency neutral improvement of 26.2% versus the first half of the previous year. First half Footwear sales grew by 18.5% to €535 million, Apparel by 32.8% to €210 million and Accessories jumped by 48.1% to €51 million.

Branded sales exceed €1 billion in H1

PUMA’s branded sales, which include consolidated sales and licensee sales, reached €465 million during Q2, thus marking a 20.4% (currency adjusted 20.9%) increase over last year. During the first six months, a growth rate of 21.1% was realized, yielding YTD sales in excess of €1.0 billion. Footwear sales rose by 14.7% to €590 million, Apparel by 29.9% to €349 million and Accessories by 38.7% to €75 million. Currency adjusted growth was even higher, reaching 23.1%. After the end of H1 Footwear accounted for 58.2% (PY 61.5%), Apparel for 34.4% (PY 32.1%) and Accessories for 7.4% (PY 6.4%) of global branded sales.

Strong performance in licensed business

Overall, PUMA’s licensed business showed very positive developments. In Q2, licensee sales increased by 32% to €112 million, driven by sales in Asia. Sales in H1 increased by 12.9% to €218 million or by 34.2% excluding the first time consolidation effect from Q1. During Q2 PUMA generated royalty and commission income of €11 million. Despite the consolidation effect of the Japanese business in Q1, royalty and commission income reached €22 versus €21 million in the first half of ‘03. On a like-to-like basis, royalty and commission income increased by approximately 23%.