Highlights Second Quarter:

• Consolidated sales up more than 4% in Euro terms and flat currency-adjusted
• Gross profit margin at 50%
• First impact of cost savings program: total operating expenses below last year’s level
• Operational result at € 63 million slightly above last year
• EPS at € 2.55 compared to € 2.98
• Strong improvement in inventories

Highlights First Six Months:

• Global brand sales reach almost € 1.4 billion
• Consolidated sales up almost 4% in Euro terms and slightly up currency-adjusted
• Gross profit margin remains above 51%
• Operating result before special items at € 177 million
• EPS before restructuring at € 8.51 compared to € 8.74 last year

Outlook 2009:

• Management expects that market environment remains challenging for the second half of 2009
• The implemented reengineering and restructuring program will continue as planned
• Continuing strong focus on working capital and cash flow improvement

Jochen Zeitz, CEO: “Despite an ongoing challenging market environment and the global economic recession, PUMA achieved a solid performance in the first half of 2009. The restructuring and reengineering program has already shown first effects and we will continue to strictly proceed while focusing on efficient measures to strengthen the brand and its products in the coming quarters.”

Sales and Earnings Development

Global branded sales

Sales under the PUMA brand, which include consolidated and license sales, reached € 636.5 million during the second quarter, a currency-adjusted decrease of 2.6% and an increase of 1.2% in Euro terms. Altogether, the quarter marked a solid performance in a globally challenging environment.

During the first six months, branded sales declined currency-neutral 2.9%. In Euro terms, sales increased 0.3% reaching € 1,374.1 million. On a currency-neutral basis, Footwear sales were down by 1.1% to € 745.6 million and Apparel 7.0% to € 460.9 million. Accessories increased by 1.3% to € 167.7 million.

Licensed business

The licensed business decreased in the second quarter by 32.2% currency-adjusted to € 36.2 million and by 37.5% to € 76.4 million for the first half due to the take-over of a licensee.

Based on licensed sales, the company realized a royalty and commission income of € 5.2 million in the second quarter versus € 6.4 million in the previous year’s quarter and € 10.2 million versus € 13.4 million year-to-date.

Consolidated sales

Currency-adjusted consolidated sales were flat compared to last year but increased in Euro terms a solid 4.1% to € 600.3 million. On a currency-neutral basis, Footwear was down 2.0% reaching € 330.0 million, and Apparel decreased 5.7% to € 203.8 million. Accessories improved by a strong 41.2% to € 66.4 million, which is mainly due to first time consolidations.

After six months, consolidated sales were up 0.4% on a currency-neutral basis and 3.8% in Euro terms to € 1,297.7 million. In spite of a challenging market environment, sales in the Americas region increased,whereas EMEA and Asia/Pacific were below last year’s level. In total, Footwear sales were € 727.1 million, representing a currency-neutral decrease of 1.4% and Apparel sales decreased 7.0% to € 426.3 million due to high comparables, which resulted from replica sales relating to the Football Euro Cup last year. Accessories were up a strong 49.1% to € 144.3 million.

Gross profit remains above 51%

The overall market environment paired with a change in the regional sales mix caused the reduction in gross profit margin in the second quarter from last year’s 52.5% to 50.0%. After six months, a gross profit margin of 51.1% was achieved compared to 53.0%. Footwear reported 49.7% versus 53.4%, Apparel 52.3% compared to 52.5% and Accessories increased to 54.9% versus 52.1% last year.

Operating expenses

Due to first effects from the reengineering and restructuring program, operating expenses decreased in the second quarter by 1.8% to € 242.2 million or from 42.8% to 40.3% of sales. During the first half, operating expenses increased only 1.8% to € 496.2 million, representing a cost ratio of 38.2% versus last year’s 39.0%.

Marketing/Retail expenses decreased 3.6% to € 253.1 million as last year’s Olympic Games and Euro Cup required a higher spending level. As a result, the cost ratio declined from 21.0% to 19.5% of sales. Other selling expenses increased by 14.4% to € 158.9 million, or from 11.1% to 12.2% of sales, mainly due to first time consolidations and currency impacts. Expenses for product development and design were up 14.7% to € 28.9 million, or as a percentage of sales from 2.0% to 2.2%. Other general and administration expenses were down a strong 9.3% and totaled € 55.3 million, representing 4.3% of sales versus 4.9% last year. Depreciation which is included in operating expenses increased by 16.3% to € 31.0 million due to full year effects from last year’s retail expansion.

Operational result before special items

PUMA achieved a solid operating result of € 63.1 million in the second quarter versus € 62.3 million last year. As a percentage of sales this relates to a margin of 10.5% compared to 10.8%.

After six months the operating result was down 5.9% from € 188.1 million to € 177.1 million. The operating margin stood at 13.6% compared to 15.0% last year.

Special Items – Restructuring charge

The reengineering and restructuring program that led to a one-time charge of 110 million in the first quarter will, for the most part, be finalized at the end of 2010. The program should provide for a more efficient business platform aligned to an expectedly challenging environment in the upcoming quarters.

Taking the special items into account, EBIT after six months amounted to € 67.1 million compared to € 188.1 million last year.

Financial result

The financial result reflects negative € 2.1 million for the second quarter versus an income of € 0.1 million last year. Negative € 3.7 million impacted the first half, while last year showed an income of € 1.0 million. Significantly lower interest rates and the accumulation of interest on purchase price liabilities led to this negative impact on the financial result.

Earnings

The company’s pre-tax profit (EBT) accounts for € 61.0 million in the second quarter versus € 62.4 million last year. Net earnings totaled € 38.5 million versus € 45.6 million, a decline of 15.6%. This results in earnings per share of € 2.55 compared to € 2.98 in the quarter.

Before restructuring costs, EBT accounts for € 173.4 million versus € 189.2 million for the first half and net earnings for € 128.4 million versus € 135.7 million, a decline of 5.4%. As a consequence, earnings per share were at € 8.51 compared to € 8.74. The operational tax ratio was calculated at 26.5% versus last year’s 28.5%.

Taking into account the restructuring costs, EBT was at € 63.4 million and net earnings at € 44.0 million in the first half of the year. Earnings per share were at € 2.92 versus € 8.74 last year.

Regional Development

Sales in the EMEA region reached € 288.3 million in the second quarter, a currency-adjusted decrease of 1.4%. Year-to-date, sales were down by 2.3% to € 654.4 million, representing 50.4% of consolidated sales. Gross profit margin was at a strong 53.5% compared to 54.5% last year.

Second quarter sales in the Americas were up 6.9% currency-adjusted, reaching € 168.6 million. First half sales increased 9.2% to € 346.7 million. The region now accounts for 26.7% of consolidated sales. Gross profit margin stood at 47.1% compared to 48.9% last year.

In the US market, sales increased by 4.8% to $ 132.7 million in the second quarter and by 4.1% to $ 271.4 million after six months.

Sales in the Asia/Pacific region decreased in the second quarter by 4.5% currency-adjusted to € 143.4 million and 2.8% after six months reaching € 296.7 million. The total region accounts for 22.9% of sales. Gross profit margin reached 50.5% versus 53.6% last year.

Net Assets and Financial Position

Equity

As of June 30, 2009, total assets climbed by 15.0% to € 2,047.8 million. Due to the higher balance sheet total, the equity ratio stood at 56.6% after 60.7% in the previous year.

Working capital

In reporting terms, inventories grew 3.0% to € 432.1 million. Inventories were down 0.7% on a comparable basis, showing a strong improvement versus end of Q1. Accounts receivables were up 6.2% (3.1% on a comparable basis), reaching € 502.8 million. Working capital totaled € 540.6 million (ex acquisition € 524.9 million) compared to € 552.1 million last year, manifesting a strong improvement in this area from the first quarter.

Capex/Cashflow

For Capex, the company spent € 24.6 million in the first half versus € 50.6 million last year. Due to the reduced capital expenditure as well as a solid improvement in working capital, PUMA’s free cashflow reached € 45.1 million compared to an outflow of € 23.6 million in last year’s comparison, representing a strong improvement over last year.

An outflow of € 61.0 million (last year: € 19.7 million) is related to acquisition cost. Taking the acquisition cost into account, the free cashflow was € -15.8 million compared to € -43.3 million last year.

Cash position

Total cash end of June stood at € 302.7 versus € 288.2 million last year. Bank debts were down from € 65.6 million to € 44.8 million. As a result, the net cash position increased from € 222.6 million to € 257.9 million year over year, underlying PUMA’s strong focus on efficient cash management.

Outlook 2009 – Market environment remains challenging

A solid first half performance and a pro-active restructuring and reengineering program, which has achieved improvements in operating expenses, working capital and free cashflow, have enabled PUMA to protect its industry leading key-financial parameters. Further improvements should be realized over the next 18 months as the program continues to yield additional efficiencies and cost savings. However, we remain highly cautious and anticipate a continued challenging and volatile retail industry due to the decline of private consumption as a result of the weakness in the global economy, which may negatively impact sales in second half.

The 121-page document covers the reporting period 2007/2008 and has exclusively been published online for environmental reasons. It details PUMA’s progress to enhance working and social standards in its supply chain, build capacity at its suppliers’ factories, broaden its range of sustainable products and reduce the company’s environmental footprint through the PUMAVision category puma.safe. It furthermore outlines PUMA’s activities in supporting artists and creative organizations through the category puma.creative and its initiatives to support global peace through puma.peace.

Download the full report here.

“Our 2007/2008 PUMAVision Sustainability Report is a testament to the fact that we at PUMA do not simply talk about sustainable development, we take action,” said Jochen Zeitz, Chairman and CEO of PUMA. “We are proud of our successes over the years and of our commitment to sustainability and the highest ethical standards, but realize that when it comes to corporate responsibility, there is and will always be room for improvement. Now, more than ever, we are deepening our commitments and dedicating ourselves to a strategy that sees the ‘whole’ as a sum of its parts—our PUMAVision. As we work towards a safer, more peaceful, and more creative world, we will continue to expand our outreach as corporate global citizens beyond the boundaries of business, not only for the benefit of our stakeholders, but for all.”

Highlights of the visually appealing document include:

• A portrait of the concept PUMAVision
• A transparent description of PUMA’s response to the challenges it faces in its supply chain operations, capacity building projects and brand collaboration initiatives
• The expansion of PUMA’s range of sustainable products through Fair Trade footballs and apparel from “Cotton Made in Africa”
• A detailed account of PUMA’s numerous initiatives to protect the environment, including the progress on reaching targets of a 25% reduction of energy and water consumption as well as waste creation for offices by 2010 and decreasing its carbon footprint
• An outline of PUMA’s worldwide activities in cooperation with the charity organization “Peace One Day” to raise awareness for global peace
• An account of its sponsorship of the art exhibition 30 Americans to support the work of 31 African-American artists
• A recap of PUMA’ numerous projects on the African continent

The report has been certified by TÜV Rheinland, which “is confident that PUMA AG operates a meaningful and adequate system to collect, measure, control and steer their sustainability activities and that the PUMA 2007/2008 Sustainability Report presents information and facts that give a realistic impression on the sustainability performance of the company.”

The Global Reporting Initiative has reconfirmed an A+ rating for the document.

PUMA’s endeavours to enhance its social and environmental standards are ongoing. The Sportlifestyle company endorses the campaign “Seal the Deal!” led by the United Nations. This campaign aims at strengthening political will and public support for reaching a comprehensive global climate agreement at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2009 to help prevent global warming and further climate change. As a participant in the Carbon Disclosure Project, PUMA is actively working on reducing its direct and indirect climate gas emissions.

PUMA is committed to working in ways that contribute to the world by supporting creativity, sustainability and peace, and by staying true to the values of being Fair, Honest, Positive and Creative in decisions made and actions taken. The foundation for our activities is PUMAVision—a concept that guides our work with its three core programs, puma.creative, puma.safe and puma.peace.

The joint initiative aims at raising awareness for PEACE ONE DAY and the necessity of peaceful cohabitation. adidas and PUMA will also take the message and idea of PEACE ONE DAY into the football stadiums in Munich and Stuttgart through surprise highlights during the halftimes of the German premier league games FC Bayern München – 1. FC Nürnber and VfB Stuttgart – 1. FC Köln on 19 September.

„We at adidas are very proud to support PEACE ONE DAY together with PUMA.
We firmly believe that sport can bring the world together. Sport has shown this at countless occasions in the past and we are committed to the positive values found in sport: performance and passion, teamwork and fair play,” said Herbert Hainer, CEO of adidas AG. “I am looking very much forward to our adidas and PUMA football match and I hope that our joint initiative helps to raise further awareness for PEACE ONE DAY around the world.”

Jochen Zeitz, Chairman and CEO of PUMA, said: „We are uniting on this day as a commitment to Peace Day. Our common goal being that our collaboration today will help create awareness for the day. Kofi Annan once said that ‘individuals can make a difference and collectively we can make a major contribution’. I believe that is the case also for companies. And our unity, in support of Peace Day, is a small step in a positive direction as well as an expression of the united power of sport in a world which we are all responsible for.”

The companies adidas and PUMA were founded by the brothers Rudolf and Adi Dassler in the 1940s. Until they separated and went their own ways, they both owned a factory called “Gebrüder Dassler Sportschuhfabrik” where they together manufactured sports shoes – quite successfully as the world records of Jesse Owens proved. In the last decades, adidas and PUMA became worldwide leading brands. Both companies are still based in Herzogenaurach, Germany.

Both teams, which were made up of 40 employees of both competitors as well as a few local journalists, demonstrated their support for PEACE ONE DAY on the premises of the adidas headquarters and proved that sport can help overcome boundaries and promote a peaceful cohabitation.

„Our joint football match in support of PEACE ONE DAY and Global Peace Day was a unique experience for the participating players and our employees. It showed that everyone – and companies as well – can make their contribution to peace,” said the two Chief Executives Jochen Zeitz and Herbert Hainer. “The symbolic handshake of adidas and PUMA helped to raise awareness for Global Peace Day and the necessity for non-violence and ceasefire.”

Particularly for this memorable football game, adidas and PUMA had created a football kit in black and white that sported adidas’ three stipe logo as well as PUMA’s leaping cat. The kit is part of a limited collection of 80 pieces, that will be auctioned for PEACE ONE DAY.

Football celebrity Alexander Hleb, player of German premier league club VfB Stuttgart and captain of the Belarus national team, supported the initiative by signing autographs and giving PEACE ONE DAY footballs to the fans onsite.

Following the match adidas and PUMA employees went together to PUMA’s Brand Center in Nuremberg to watch the movie „The Day after Peace“ by British actor and director Jeremy Gilley.

Last weekend, both companies had already taken the message and idea of PEACE ONE DAY into the football stadiums of Munich and Stuttgart. During the halftimes of the German premier league games FC Bayern Munich – 1. FC Nuremberg and VfB Stuttgart – 1. FC Cologne adidas and PUMA employees took part in a penalty shoot out with former premier league goalkeeper Walter Junghans and shared PEACE ONE DAY balls with the fans.

The companies adidas and PUMA were founded by the brothers Rudolf and Adi Dassler in the 1940s. Until they separated and went their own ways, they both owned a factory called “Gebrüder Dassler Sportschuhfabrik” where they together manufactured sports shoes – quite successfully as the world records of Jesse Owens proved. In the last decades, adidas and PUMA became worldwide leading brands. Both companies are still based in Herzogenaurach, Germany.

PUMA is known for launching innovative, trend-setting and sophisticated sportlifestyle collections, delivering desirable products that start in sports and end in style. These brand characteristics are all reflected in the PUMA Phone as well. It will be sold in PUMA stores and through operators.

With SAGEM Wireless, PUMA has partnered up with an experienced player in the mobile communications marketplace to build a single branded product in line with PUMA’s look and feel.

Currently, PUMA has also granted licenses for the production of bodywear, socks, personal care products, eyewear, watches and bikes.

“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.

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 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.

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.

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 3rd 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.

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.

Highlights Fourth Quarter:

• Consolidated sales down 10.1% currency-adjusted
• Gross profit margin at 51.0%, up 430 basis points versus last year
• Operating result up 21.3% to € 45 million
• Special items of € 18 million impact net earnings
• EPS up 80% at € 1.08 after € 0.60 last year

Highlights January – December:

• Consolidated sales decreased 3.7% currency-adjusted
• Gross profit margin at 51.3% versus 51.8% last year
• Operating result at € 320 million or 13.0% of sales
• EBIT including special items at € 192 million
• EPS at € 8.50 versus € 15.15 last year
• Free cashflow before acquisitions at €256 million up 130% and 2nd best result in history

Outlook 2010:

• Despite a continuously tense global economy the currency-adjusted sales volume in 2010 is expected to at least reach last year’s level.
• A comparable gross profit margin will be targeted in spite of a lower currency hedging position and higher proportion of team sport product sales.

Increased marketing expenses are to be expected during the World Cup year, whereas the 2009 cost reduction program should provide for cost savings and increases in efficiency, which should at least compensate the one-off expenses.

Jochen Zeitz, CEO: “Despite the global financial crisis and only a few major sports events, PUMA remained firm in a difficult market environment, posting an only moderate decline in annual sales along with the second best cashflow development in the history of the company. The comprehensive restructuring and reengineering program that we implemented during the year enabled us to become an even more efficient and focused company that is aligned to today’s economic realities. PUMA had an excellent and successful start into the football year by winning the African Cup of Nations with Egypt. We will turn the Football World Cup in South Africa into a home game and are determined to make use of and invest in all opportunities that offer further growth to strengthen the brand’s and company’s desirability in the long run.”

The Year 2009

As a result of the financial crisis and its impact on the global economy, 2009 proved to be very challenging for all market participants. Despite the global recession and only a few major sporting events, PUMA succeeded in standing its ground in the difficult market environment. The performance of Usain Bolt at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, where he broke the 100m and 200m world records, was, among others, a particular highlight for the PUMA brand.

As early signs of the economic deceleration appeared, PUMA pro-actively implemented measures starting in Q4 of 2008. During 2009, management continued to install a comprehensive restructuring and re-engineering program to optimize the retail portfolio, the global organizational structure and operational processes. This resulted in one-off expenses in the amount of € 127.8 million

Currency-adjusted, global brand sales decreased by 6.4% to remain above € 2.6 billion. Currency-adjusted consolidated sales declined by only 3.7% to approximately € 2.5 billion. Despite the difficult market environment, the gross profit margin stood at a robust 51.3%, which means that PUMA continues to maintain its position at the upper echelon of the sporting goods industry. The operating profit before special items totaled € 320.2 million or 13.0% of sales, compared to 13.9% in the previous year. Including special items, earnings per share amounted to € 8.50 compared to € 15.15 in the previous year. Working capital decreased by 9.9% to € 397.8 million. This strongly supported the free cashflow before acquisitions, which more than doubled from € 110.7 million to € 255.8 million, yielding the second best result in the company’s history.

The price of the PUMA share stood at € 231.84 at the end of the year and increased by 65.2% year-on-year, which resulted in a market capitalization of approximately € 3.5 billion.

Sales and Earnings Development 4th Quarter 2009

Consolidated sales decreased currency-adjusted as expected by 10.1% in the fourth quarter 2009 and totaled € 489.5 million. In the fourth quarter which traditionally is the weakest, sales were effected by the significantly reduced inventory leading to less close out sales.

Currency adjusted sales in EMEA were down 10.9%, Americas sales decreased 2.6% and Asia/Pacific 16.2%. Footwear sales decreased 16.8% and Apparel 10.9%. Sales in Accessories increased 39.4%, mainly from first time consolidation effects.

The gross profit margin increased to 51%, up 430 basis points from last year. All regions and product segments contributed positively.

While operating expenses decreased by 9.2% to € 209.7 million, the cost ratio increased to 42.8% versus 41.1% last year due to the lower sales basis in Q4 2009. Operating profit (before special items) improved by 21.3% from € 37.2 million to € 45.1 million or from 6.6% to 9.2% as a percentage of sales. Including special items, earnings per share were at € 1.08 compared to € 0.60 in the previous year.

Further cost saving potential has been identified, leading to additional € 17.8 million one-off expenses.

Sales and Earnings Development January-December 2009

Global Brand Sales

Worldwide PUMA brand sales, comprised of licensed and consolidated sales, dropped by 6.4% currency-adjusted to just above € 2.6 billion. In Euro terms, this corresponds to a 5.3% decrease.

Consolidated Sales

Currency-adjusted sales decreased by 3.7% to € 2,460.7 million in 2009 which corresponds to a 2.5% decrease in Euros.

The Footwear segment posted a decrease in currency-adjusted sales by 7.8% to € 1,327.8 million. The share in consolidated sales stood at 54.0%, compared to 56.8% in the previous year.

Currency-adjusted sales in the Apparel segment dropped by 7.4% to € 852.9 million, representing a 34.7% share in consolidated sales, compared to 35.6% in the previous year.

Currency-adjusted sales in the Accessories segment increased by 44.0% to € 280.1 million, which is primarily due to first time consolidation effects. The share in consolidated sales increased to 11.4%, compared to 7.6% in the previous year.

Gross Profit Margin

As a result of the promotional environment and a change in the regional mix, the gross profit margin decreased by 50 basis points to 51.3%, which is still in the upper echelon of the sporting goods industry. In absolute figures, the gross profit margin decreased by 3.4% from € 1,306.6 million to € 1,262.4 million

The gross profit margin for Footwear was 50.2%, compared to 51.7% in the previous year. The gross profit margin for Apparel increased from 51.9% to 52.1% while Accessories recorded a significant increase in the gross profit margin, rising from 51.7% to 54.3%.

Operating Expenses/Result

As a result of the cost reduction measures, operating expenses before special items decreased from € 982.0 million to € 962.8 million, or by 2.0%. As a percentage of sales, the cost ratio stood at 39.1%, compared to 38.9% in the previous year.

Within selling expenses, expenses relating to marketing/retail declined from € 528.6 million to € 494.1 million, corresponding to a cost ratio decrease from 20.9% to 20.1% of sales. However, previous year’s expenses include costs related to the Olympic Games and the 2008 European Football Championship.

Other selling expenses increased by 4.7% to € 309.8 million, or from 11.7% to 12.6% of sales. Expenses for product development and design increased from € 55.1 million to € 58.1 million, or from 2.2% to 2.4% of sales. Administration and general expenses decreased from € 102.4 million to € 100.9 million, with the cost ratio remaining unchanged at 4.1% of sales.

The total depreciation amounted to € 60.2 million, which reflects an increase of 7.7% compared to the previous year, mainly attributable to first time consolidation and full year effects of last year’s expansion of the company’s own retail operations.

Operating profit before special items was € 320.2 million, compared to € 350.4 million in the previous year. As a percentage of sales, this corresponds to an operating margin of 13.0%, compared to 13.9% last year.

Special Items – Reengineering and Restructuring Program

In light of the difficult market environment, PUMA implemented further measures in the first quarter of 2009 to ensure long-term and profitable growth. The management installed a rigorous reengineering and cost reduction program that will reduce the initially planned costs on an annual basis. The originally required one-off expenses of € 110 Mio have increased to € 127.8 million. The one-off expenses relate to the optimization of the retail store portfolio, the global organizational structure and the re-engineering of some key operational processes. Considering non-cash impacting depreciation, € 84.5 million of the one-off expenses will become cash relevant. The cost reduction program will help to further reduce the planned costs and provide for cost savings beyond our original target of up to € 150 million.

Including the special items, the operating profit (EBIT) amounted to € 192.4 million, or 7.8% of sales.

Financial Result

The financial result was € -8.3 million, compared to € 1.1 million in the previous year. Significantly lower interest rates and the higher interest portion relating to purchase price liabilities have had a negative impact on the financial result.

The financial result includes interest income in the amount of € 3.8 million (vs. € 11.9 million in the previous year), as well as interest expenses in the amount of € 6.6 million (previous year: € 6.7 million). The financial result also includes expenses relating to accumulated, long-term purchase price liabilities from corporate acquisitions in the amount of € 4.4 million (previous year: € 3.1 million), as well as expenses in the amount of € 1.1 million (previous year: € 1.0 million) stemming from the valuation of pension plans.

Earnings before Taxes

Earnings before taxes (EBT) decreased from € 326.4 million to € 184.1 million, or from 12.9% to 7.5% as a percentage of sales. This reduction is primarily due to the special items. Tax expenses decreased from € 94.8 million to € 58.2 million. The tax rate stood at 31.6%, up from 29.0% in the previous year. This was mainly attributable to the recognition of one-off expenses for tax purposes in the respective countries.

Net Earnings

Net earnings in the 2009 financial year amounted to € 128.2 million, compared to € 232.8 million last year. The net rate of return was 5.2%, compared to 9.2% in the previous year. Earnings per share and diluted earnings per share amounted to € 8.50, compared to € 15.15 in the previous year.

Regional Development

Currency-adjusted sales in the EMEA region declined by 4.0% to € 1,217.6 million. The share of the EMEA region in consolidated sales amounted to 49.5%, compared to 51.5% in the previous year.

By product segments, currency-adjusted Footwear sales decreased by 13.1%, and Apparel sales declined by 9.5%. As a result of the acquisition of a former licensee, Accessories sales nearly doubled with an increase of 98.7%.

The gross profit margin stood at 53.3%, compared to 53.5% in the previous year.

The Americas region posted an increase in currency-adjusted sales of 0.6% to € 665.2 million. The share in consolidated sales stood at 27.0%, compared to 25.8% in the previous year.

Currency-adjusted Footwear sales were up by 1.2%, and Apparel sales recorded a 0.1% increase. Accessories sales decreased by 4.3%.

The gross profit margin stood at 48.2%, compared to 49.2% in the previous year.

Currency-adjusted sales in the US market, which is the region’s largest market, decreased by 0.9% to
USD 533.5 million.

Currency-adjusted sales in the Asia/Pacific region decreased by 7.7% to € 578.0 million. The share in consolidated sales increased to 23.5%, compared to 22.7% in the previous year.

Currency-adjusted Footwear sales decreased by 10.4%, Apparel sales by 7.4% and Accessories sales remained unchanged at the previous year’s level.

The gross profit margin remained unchanged at the previous year’s level of 50.8%.

Net Assets and Financial Position

Equity

Total assets as of December 31, 2009 increased by 6.1%, rising from € 1,898.7 million to € 2,014.1 million, particularly due to the strong increase in cash and cash equivalents. The equity ratio stood at 61.6%, compared to 62.0% in the previous year. In absolute terms, shareholders’ equity increased by 5.3% to € 1,239.8 million, compared to € 1,177.2 million in the previous year. Despite the global economic conditions, PUMA continues to have extremely solid capital resources.

Working Capital

Due to a strong working capital management, the company succeeded in reducing working capital by 9.9%, or from € 436.4 million to € 393.1 million. As a percentage of sales, this corresponds to an improvement from 17.3% to 16.0%. The working capital improvement was mainly attributable to a significant 19.1% reduction in inventories to € 348.5 million. Trade receivables were up slightly by 0.3% to € 397.8 million, while trade payables decreased by 2.6% to € 262.1 million.

Cashflow

The strong working capital management enabled the Company to achieve its second best free cashflow (before acquisitions) in its history, nearly matching 2004’s record result.

Net cash used for investing activities increased from € 133.3 million to € 139.2 million. Other investing activities include the purchase of fixed assets in the amount of € 54.5 million, compared to € 119.2 million in the previous year, as well as € 84.4 million for purchase price liabilities in connection with corporate acquisitions, compared to € 24.9 million in the previous year.

As a result, the free cashflow improved significantly from € 85.8 million to € 171.4 million. Excluding payments for acquisitions, the free cashflow more than doubled from € 110.7 million to € 255.8 million. As a percentage of sales, free cashflow (before acquisitions) stood at 10.4%, compared to 4.4% in the previous year.

Cash and cash equivalents reported as of December 31, 2009 increased from € 375.0 million to € 485.6 million.

Dividend

The Board of Management and the Supervisory Board will propose a dividend in the amount of € 1.80 per share (previous year: € 2.75) be paid out for the financial year 2009 from the retained earnings of PUMA AG. As a percentage of consolidated net earnings, the dividend pay-out rate increased from 17.8% to 21.2%. The dividend is to be paid out on the day following the Annual General Meeting, where the profit distribution is authorized.

Outlook 2010

In light of the ongoing restrictive consumer environment and the overall global economic volatility, continued restrained consumer behavior is to be expected. A quantitative estimate for 2010 is therefore difficult to make, despite the current positive impetus from the Football World Cup. However, we expect that currency-adjusted sales in 2010 will at least reach last year’s level. PUMA will strive for a gross profit margin comparable to the previous year, despite the present currency hedging position and a higher proportion of team sport products with lower contribution margin.

Increased marketing expenses are to be expected during the World Cup year, whereas the cost reduction program should provide for efficiency increases and cost savings to ensure the company’s sustained earnings power.

A clear improvement in net earnings will be achieved, as no special items are expected for 2010. Under consideration of these planning parameters and omitting the special items, we strive to achieve an improvement of our net results.

This document contains forward-looking information about the Company’s financial status and strategic initiatives. Such information is subject to a certain level of risk and uncertainty that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ significantly from the information discussed in this document. The forward-looking information is based on the current expectations and prognosis of the management team. Therefore, this document is further subject to the risk that such expectations or prognosis, or the premise of such underlying expectations or prognosis, become erroneous. Circumstances that could alter the Company’s actual results and procure such results to differ significantly from those contained in forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of the Company include, but are not limited to those discussed be above.