Jochen Zeitz, CEO and Chairman, PUMA AG: “We are pleased that the PUMA shareholders have with their vote supported the junction of PUMA with the PPR group and set the basis for a successful cooperation. With the support of PPR we will use the large potential of our brand and the emerging possibilities on a long-term basis and will invest into brand-building, enabling us to further strengthen our position as the leading company in the Sportlifestyle market.”

PUMA has become a member of the PPR group. PUMA will announce its financial results for the 2nd Quarter and First Half-Year of 2007 on August, 9. PPR will announce its consolidated financial results for the First Half-Year on August, 31. Additionally, PPR will inform about sales of the PPR group including PUMA on July, 26.

Highlights Q3

• Consolidated sales at € 670 million
• Strong gross profit margin at 53%
• EBIT reached € 124 million, up versus last year
• EPS at € 5.56 versus € 5.41

Highlights First Nine Months

• Global brand sales increase 4% currency adjusted
• Consolidated sales up more than 3% currency adjusted
• Gross profit margin above 52%
•  EBIT at € 320 million, representing 17% of sales
• EPS at € 14.40 compared to € 14.36

Outlook 2007

• Good improvements in orders: up more than 8% currency adjusted
• Management reconfirms sales and earnings guidance for FY 2007

Sales and Earnings Development

Global brand sales increase 4%

In Q3, PUMA’s branded sales, which include consolidated sales and license sales, reported € 753.4 million, a slight decline of 0.6% on a currency neutral basis. During the nine months period ending September, global brand sales increased 3.8% to € 2,137.4 million. Like-for-like, Footwear sales increased 1.5% to € 1,177.6 million, Apparel rose by 5.9% to € 759.2 million and Accessories improved by 10.1% to € 200.5 million.

Licensed business up almost 8%

The licensed business decreased slightly in Q3 by 1.1% currency adjusted to € 83.0 million, mainly due to the announced expiration of the Korean license at year-end 2007. Year-to-date, licensed sales increased by 7.7% to € 268.3 million.
Based on the licensed turnover a royalty and commission income of € 7.6 million or € 26.1 million respectively was realized, representing a gross yield of 9.2% on licensed sales in the quarter and 9.7% year-to-date.

Consolidated sales up more than 3%

Due to the early shipments in June (as reported with the Q2 release), consolidated sales were slightly down at 0.5% currency adjusted totaling € 670.4 million in Q3. By segments, Footwear decreased 6.9% to € 376.3 million, Apparel was up 8.7% to € 246.3 million and Accessories improved 10.6% to € 47.8 million.
Sales after nine months were up 3.2% currency adjusted to € 1,869.0 million. In total, Footwear improved 1.0% to € 1,110.7 million, Apparel 6.8% to € 632.6 million and Accessories 6.3% to € 125.7 million.

Gross profit margin above 52%

In Q3, gross profit margin increased by strong 270 basis points reaching 53.0% compared to 50.4% last year. For the nine months period gross profit margin was a favorable 52.5% compared to 51.4%. Footwear margin increased from 51.2% to 52.3%, Apparel margin from 51.2% to 52.5%, and Accessories stood with 53.9% almost flat on last year’s level.

SG&A

In absolute amounts, SG&A expenses were flat in Q3 but increased 1.8% after nine months totaling € 228.1 million and € 656.0 million respectively. As a percentage of sales, the cost ratio increased from 32.6% to 34.0% during Q3 and from 34.1% to 35.1% after nine months.

For the nine months period, marketing/retail expenses increased 0.7% and accounted for € 314.8 million or 16.8% of sales versus € 312.6 million or 16.6% last year. Product development and design expenses grew 8.1% to € 43.0 million representing 2.3% of sales, a slight increase of 20 basis points. Other selling, general and administrative expenses were up 2.2% to € 298.2 million, or from 15.5% to 16.0% of sales.

EBIT at € 320 million

EBIT in Q3 developed stronger than sales leading the EBIT margin up from 17.6% to 18.5%. In absolute terms, EBIT increased 0.6% to € 123.8 million. EBIT accumulated over the nine months period, amounts to € 319.7 million versus € 324.6 million, representing an almost flat operational margin of 17.1%.

Taking into account an interest result of € 3.7 million in Q3 and € 8.5 million after nine months, pre-tax profit was up by 1.8% to € 127.5 million in the quarter and down by 0.8% to € 328.2 million year-to-date. The tax ratio after nine months was 29.0% therefore on last year’ level.

Earnings per share

Net earnings in Q3 reached € 89.1 million versus € 87.1 million and € 230.8 million compared to € 230.3 million after nine months. Hence, the net return improved from 12.5% to 13.3% and from 12.2% to 12.3% respectively.

Earnings per share increased by 2.7% to € 5.56 in Q3. Year-to-date earnings per share totaled to € 14.40 compared to € 14.36. Diluted earnings per share were calculated at € 5.57 (€ 5.39) and € 14.39 (€ 14.27) respectively.

Net Assets and Financial Position

Equity

Total assets grew by 14.2% to € 1,955.1 million as of September 30, 2007. The equity ratio stood at 60.0% compared to 60.8% last year.

The company has not bought back any shares during the last quarter and has currently no treasury stocks on its balance sheet. Hence, share capital consists of 16,027,464 shares end of September. The average number of outstanding shares for the nine months period calculates to 16,027,289.

A resolution adopted by the Annual General Meeting authorizes the company to purchase up to ten percent of the share capital until September 1, 2008.

Working capital

As expected, inventory growth was further reduced and is now up by 8.9% to € 368.2 million versus a growth of 17% end of June. Trade receivables of € 502.0 million are on last year’s level and almost in line with sales development. Total working capital at the end of September improved 2.1% and totaled € 502.2 million compared to € 513.0 million last year.

Capex/Cashflow

Capex was € 61.5 million versus € 124.6 million, of which € 4.9 million versus € 73.8 million is related to acquisitions.
Free Cashflow amounts to € 149.4 million compared to € -56.3 million last year or € 154.3 million versus € 17.4 million excluding acquisition costs and marks a strong improvement versus last years cash generation.

Strong improvement in net cash position

Cash at the end of September increased from € 404.1 million to € 532.5 million. Bank debts grew from € 66.9 million to € 69.3 million. As a result, the net cash position improved strongly from € 337.2 million to € 463.2 million year over year, due to the positive cashflow.

Regional Development

The EMEA region reported sales of € 376.5 million in Q3, a currency adjusted increase of 1.1%. Taking the early shipments of June into account, sales would have been up in mid single digits for the quarter. Year-to-date, sales increased 5.5% and totalled € 1,020.2 million. Gross profit margin year-to-date reached 54.5% compared to 54.2% last year. The order book end of September was up 12.4% to € 580.5 million. This reflects a significant improvement versus existing orders end of June 2007.

Sales in the Americas were down 8.8% currency adjusted reaching € 166.7 million in Q3. During the nine months period sales declined by 4.7% to € 486.4 million, while the gross profit margin improved 290 basis points reaching 49.7%. Orders on hand end of September were down 8.4% to € 237.8 million.
As expected, sales in the US market were down 9.7% in Q3 and 10.1% after nine months. This is caused by a continuous moderating environment in the US mall-based business. However, due to the decline of the key-account ratio the gross profit margin increased significantly by more than 500 basis points. As of September 30, 2007 orders for the US decreased 23.5% to $ 187.5 million, mainly due to the mall-based retailers.

In the Asia/Pacific region, sales improved 7.1% to € 127.2 million in Q3 and by 8.6% to € 362.4 million year-to-date. The gross profit margin reached 50.7% versus 50.6% last year. Orders on hand were up 19.1% and totaled € 247.2 million.

Outlook 2007

Orders up more than 8% currency adjusted

Total orders on hand as of September increased 8.3% currency adjusted totaling € 1,065.5 million and representing significant improvements versus end of June 2007. The orders are mainly for deliveries scheduled for Q4 2007 as well as Q1 2008.
In terms of product segments, Footwear orders are up by 3.2% (currency adjusted) to € 659.7 million, Apparel by 19.6% to € 345.4 million and Accessories by 8.5% to € 60.4 million.

Management reconfirms sales and earnings guidance

Management confirms sales and earnings guidance for FY 2007. In terms of sales, growth is expected to be in the low single-digits on a currency neutral basis. However, gross profit margin should come in better than anticipated but compensated by a higher cost ratio. Hence, EBIT should almost develop in-line with sales providing an EBIT margin nearly on last year’s level. Tax rate is estimated at or around 29%.

Jochen Zeitz, CEO: “Based on the positive momentum in our order backlog, we anticipate a solid finish to 2007 to achieve our full-year guidance.”

Tomislav Coga, General Manager Croatia: “PUMA SPORT HRVATSKA will ensure to maximize the PUMA brand potential on the Croatian market with the aim to become the most desirable Sportlifestyle company.” PUMA’s sportlifestyle products have been sold in Croatia through Tradexco since 2003 and Tradexco will continue to operate the business until PUMA is fully operational in January 2008. Tradexco will remain a valued retail partner for PUMA in Croatia.

PUMA SPORTS HRVATSKA’s new offices will be located at Zitnjak bb in Zagreb, including a showroom which permanently displays the latest PUMA Sportlifestyle collections. PUMA will expand its business in Croatia by opening PUMA Stores and strengthening its cooperation with the existing customers in 2008.

Highlights Q4

• Consolidated sales increase more than 10%
• Gross profit margin on a high level
• EBIT up 21%
• EPS at € 2.40 versus € 2.03

Highlights January – December

• Global brand sales increase more than 3%
• Consolidated sales up almost 5%
• Gross profit margin increases significantly to more than 52%
• EBIT at € 372 million, representing 15.7% of sales
• EPS at € 16.80 compared to € 16.39

Outlook 2008

• Future orders up almost 10%
• Management expects sales and earnings increase in 2008

The year 2007 was a year with only a few events. Nevertheless, most of the targets set were reached and even exceeded in many areas. The Company successfully strengthened its positioning as a desirable sportlifestyle brand, which is as well reflected in the improved gross profit margin.

In 2007, worldwide brand sales were up 3.4% currency adjusted, amounting to € 2.7 billion. On a comparable basis, consolidated sales climbed by 4.7% to € 2.4 billion. The gross profit margin jumped by 170 basis points to over 52%, and operating profit was above last year’s, totalling € 372.0 million. Earnings per share increased from € 16.39 to € 16.80.

Highlights 4th Quarter 2007

In Q4, consolidated sales increased significantly by 10.3% to € 504.5 million on a currency-adjusted basis. Footwear rose by 7.0% to € 277.2 million, Apparel by 14.8% to € 194.7 million and Accessories by 14.0% to € 32.6 million. By regions, EMEA sales increased by 19.9% and Asia/Pacific went up by 14.3% whereas sales in the Americas decreased by 3.3% as expected.

The gross profit margin was at 51.6% 390 basis points up from last year’s quarter. SG&A increased from 38.7% to 40.3% of sales. EBIT rose significantly by 20.7% to € 52.4 million and earnings per share from € 2.03 to € 2.40.

Highlights January – December 2007

Global brand sales growth of more than 3%

PUMA brand sales rose currency-adjusted by 3.4% to € 2.7 billion. Due to the continuing weakness of currencies, particularly of the US Dollar, brand sales in Euros were slightly below last year’s level. By segments, Footwear sales climbed on a comparable basis by 1.9% to € 1,477.9 million, Apparel by 5.7% to € 998.7 million, and Accessories by 3.7% to € 262.2 million.

Licensed business

License sales declined by 3.8% to € 365.3 million on a currency neutral basis. The decrease is attributable to expired licence agreements. On a comparative basis, licence sales rose by approximately 4%. As of 2008, the Korean market will be serviced through the fully-owned subsidiary and will therefore be converted from a licence business into a consolidated business.

Overall, royalty and commission income from license sales amounted to € 35.6 million. This corresponds to 9.7% of license sales compared to 9.6% in the previous year.

Consolidated sales up almost 5%

PUMA succeeded in increasing its consolidated sales for the thirteenth consecutive year, including ten years of double-digit growth. In the 2007 financial year, currency adjusted sales rose by 4.7% to a total of € 2,373.5 million. Currency effects impacted negatively in Euro terms. The currency adjusted sales in the Footwear segment posted a 2.1% increase to € 1,387.8 million. The Apparel segment grew by 8.6% to € 827.3 million. In the Accessories segment sales were up by 7.8% to € 158.3 million.

Expansion of own retail operations is on schedule

Expansion of the Group’s own retailing activities progressed as planned during the 2007 financial year. An additional 25 PUMA concept stores were opened worldwide in 2007, resulting in 116 concept stores at the end of 2007, including two stores operated by licensee. Sales from the Company’s own retail operations grew by 18.0% to € 406.4 million in 2007. The share in consolidated sales rose from 14.5% to 17.1%.

Significant increase in gross profit margin

The desirability of the brand is reflected, in particular, in the gross profit margin. In FY2007, the gross profit margin grew strongly by 170 basis points to 52.3%. In absolute figures, gross profit was up by 3.5%, rising to € 1,241.7 million. According to product segments, the Footwear gross profit margin increased from 50.3% to 52.3% and Apparel from 50.7% to 52.2%. Accessories reached a gross profit margin of 52.8% versus 53.3%.

Investments in the brand continue as planned

Operating expenses rose by 3.5% to € 859.2 million in the 2007 financial year. The cost ratio increased from 35.0% to 36.2% of sales owing to continued scheduled brand investments and infrastructure investments.

Investments in Marketing/Retail totalled € 424.9 million. The cost ratio rose from 17.7% to 17.9% of sales, whereby marketing expenses declined in comparison with the previous year while expenses incurred for retail operations saw a scheduled increase. Product development and design expenses climbed to € 57.5 million, and at 2.4% of sales, remained constant in comparison with the previous year. Other selling, general and administrative expenses rose to € 376.7 million or from 14.9% to 15.9% of sales. The total includes one-off expenses and start-up costs for the new subsidiary in Korea.

EBIT above last year

Operating profit (EBIT) climbed to € 372.0 million from € 368.0 million in 2006. As a percentage of sales, this corresponds to an operating margin of 15.7%, compared to 15.5%.

Like-for-like, the financial result increased strongly from € 6.0 million to € 10.5 million. The financial result includes interest income of € 21.2 million and interest expenses of € 5.3 million. The net interest result corresponds to an average rate of return of 3.9%, compared to 3.1% in the previous year.

Earnings before taxes (EBT) reached € 382.6 million versus € 374.0 million in the previous year. As a percentage of sales this corresponds to a return of 16.1%, compared to 15.8%.

Tax expenses rose to € 110.9 million. The average tax rate was 29.0%, compared to 28.9% in the previous year.

Net Earnings

Net earnings improved by 2.2% to € 269.0 million. This corresponds to a net return of 11.3%, compared to 11.1% in the previous year. Earnings per share amounted to € 16.80, compared to € 16.39, and the diluted earnings per share were € 16.78, compared to € 16.31.

Net Assets and Financial Position

Equity ratio at 62%

As of December 31, 2007 shareholders’ equity rose by 10.1% to € 1,154.8 million. The equity ratio reached 62.0% after 61.2% in the previous year. The balance sheet total climbed by 8.6% from € 1,714.8 million to € 1,863.0 million.

Working Capital

Trade receivables grew by 4.2% to € 389.6 million due to the sales increase in the fourth quarter (+5.0%). Inventories increased by 2.6% to € 373.6 million. The increase is attributable to the order position for deliveries in the first months of the 2008 financial year. The inventory structure was improved significantly in the course of the year, as previously announced. Taking short-term liabilities into account, working capital was € 406.5 million and accounted for 17.1% of sales, after 16.9% in the previous year.

Capex/Cashflow

Cash used for investing activity dropped significantly to € 93.5 million. The decrease is due mostly to the cash used for regional expansion recorded in the previous year. The expansion of PUMA’s own retail operations and current investments account for € 103.4 million, according to plan.

The free cashflow (before acquisition) grew strongly by 138.3% to € 218.3 million. As a percentage of sales, the free cashflow more than doubled from 3.9% to 9.2%.

Regional Development

In spite of the fewer events in 2007 compared to the previous year, solid growth was achieved in the EMEA region. The currency adjusted sales rose by 7.8% to € 1,235.3 million. Nearly all countries in this region contributed to the growth. The EMEA region’s share in consolidated sales rose to 52.0%, compared to 48.9% in the previous year. By product segments, Footwear sales increased by 5.6%, Apparel by 11.6%, and Accessories by 7.4%, on a comparative basis. The gross profit margin reached 53.9% after 53.8% in the previous year. The operating margin (EBIT) accounted for 21.2% of sales, compared to 22.0% in the previous year.

Currency adjusted sales in America declined by 4.3% and amounted to € 641.2 million. The share in consolidated sales decreased from 30.6% to 27.0%. This is largely related to adaptation of the business with a key account customer in the USA, who in the past years had recorded strong growth in sales, and a constant moderate environment in US shopping centers (malls). As a result of these developments, the US market, which is the largest in the region, declined after several years of double-digit growth; in 2007 currency-adjusted sales decreased by 9.5% to a total of USD 561.1 million.

According to product segments in the region, Footwear posted a 5.7% decrease and Apparel declined by 2.6%. Sales in Accessories were up by 11.4%. The gross profit margin grew from 46.1% to 50.7% owing to a significant improvement in the USA. Realization of the announced streamlining of the distribution structure thus impacted very positively on the gross profit margin. The operating margin was 17.6%, compared to 17.4% in the previous year.

In the Asia/Pacific region, currency adjusted sales grew significantly by 10.1% to € 497.0 million. China, in particular, contributed to this positive result. Total region increased its share in consolidated sales from 20.5% to 20.9%. According to product segments, Footwear showed a currency adjusted increase by 11.3%, Apparel by 10.0%, and Accessories by 6.1%. The gross profit margin increased from 49.8% in the previous year to 50.6%. The operating margin was 20.4%, compared to 21.9% in the previous year.

Dividend

For financial year 2007, the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board will propose at the Annual Meeting on April 22, 2008 that the dividend be increased by 10% to € 2.75 per share. Hence, the dividend pay-out ratio moved up from 15.2% to 16.3%, in line with the announced gradual increase during the Phase IV.

In January and February 2007 the Company repurchased a total 150,000 treasury stock or 0.9% of the subscribed capital. The acquisition costs totalled € 41.6 million. With effect from April 10, 2007, the total of 1,270,000 own shares held up to that time were cancelled.

Based on a resolution of the Shareholders’ meeting of April 11, 2007, the Company was again authorized to acquire own shares of up to ten percent of the capital stock by September 1, 2008. The Company made use of this authorization and repurchased a total of 125,000 PUMA shares, or 0.8% % of the subscribed capital, up to the balance sheet date. The amount invested to this end totals € 34.7 million. The share buy back program will be continued in 2008.

Outlook 2008

Significant increase in orders

For the twelfth consecutive time, orders on hand posted growth as of the year-end. At year-end 2007, orders climbed currency adjusted by 9.8% to € 1,187.7 million, due mostly to deliveries for the first and second quarter of 2008.

By product segments, currency adjusted orders for Footwear went up by 4.7% to € 721.1 million, Apparel orders climbed by 19.9% to € 397.7 million, followed by Accessories, which rose by 13.6% to € 68.9 million.

In the EMEA regions, currency adjusted orders were up by 10.2% to € 712.0 million. Orders in the America region dropped by 3.2% to € 241.3 million on a comparable basis. The decrease is due exclusively to the US market. Orders in the Asia/Pacific region rose by 26.0% to € 234.4 million due to a significant increase in the Chinese market, in particular.

Sales and profit increase expected in 2008

Due to the positive orders position, Management expects a currency adjusted single-digit sales growth for the fiscal year 2008.

EBIT is also expected to increase compared to 2007. The operating margin, however, is expected to fall below previous year’s level because of the major sports events and related marketing expenses as well as planned further expansion of the Company’s own retail activities. The tax rate is expected to be at last year’s level.

Jochen Zeitz, CEO: “Although PUMA faced a challenging year, we did not only meet most of our expectations in 2007, but even exceeded them in many points. PUMA had an excellent and successful start into the extraordinary sports year 2008 by winning the African Cup of Nations through Egypt’s win, securing a strong brand visibility on the pitch as the leading equipment supplier. We are determined to make use of all opportunities and chances that offer further growth and we will continue to invest and to strengthen the brand’s as well as the company’s desirability in the long run.”

Highlights Q1:

• Consolidated sales up almost 7%
• Strong gross profit margin, up 120 basis points to 53.4%
• Brand investments continue according to plan
• EBIT at € 126 million representing almost 19% of sales versus 21% last year
• EPS at € 5.76 compared to € 6.02

Outlook 2008:

• Orders up currency neutral 12% to nearly € 1.2 billion
• In a challenging market, management confirms a single-digit sales increase on a currency neutral basis

Sales and Earnings Development

Global branded sales

PUMA’s worldwide branded sales, which include consolidated and license sales, rose currency neutral 0.5%. In reporting terms, branded sales reached € 741.2 million versus € 762.1 million due to the strength of the Euro against most of the related currencies.
Footwear sales were down by 4.6% to € 404.1 million. Apparel was almost on last year’s level totaling
€ 246.9 million, and Accessories improved by 36.0% to € 90.1 million.

Licensed business

On a comparable basis, licensed sales were flat. However, due to the take-back of the former license market Korea, the licensed business was down by 35.6% currency neutral to € 67.8 million. Based on the remaining licensed business the company realized a royalty and commission income of € 7.1 million in the first quarter versus € 9.7 million in the prior year.

Consolidated sales up almost 7%

In Q1, consolidated sales grew 6.6% currency neutral (2.7% in Euro terms) to € 673.3 million. Sales in Footwear were almost flat versus last year representing € 394.2 million, with all regions achieving satisfactory performance except the US. Apparel sales improved by 18.5% to € 231.8 million and Accessories by 16.5% to € 47.3 million and all regions contributed with double-digit growth.

Gross profit at 53.4%

In Q1, gross profit margin reached 53.4% compared to 52.2% last year. The Footwear margin was up from 52.1% to 53.4% and Apparel increased from 51.9% to 53.4%. Accessories reported 53.7% compared to 54.9% last year.

SG&A

In total, SG&A rose 9.9% to € 227.8 million in Q1 2008. As a percentage of sales, the cost ratio was at 33.8% versus 31.6% last year.

Marketing/Retail expenses were up by 20.6% to € 120.4 million that was due to higher marketing investments and the Retail expansion as planned. As a percentage of sales, this represents a cost ratio of 17.9% compared to 15.2% in the previous year. Product development and design expenses were down by 11.4% to € 11.6 million, or from 2.0% to 1.7% of sales, mainly due to currency effects. Other selling, general and administrative expenses increased 1.6% to € 95.9 million but declined from 14.4% to 14.2% of sales.

EBIT

EBIT amounts to € 125.8 million versus € 134.8 million last year. As a percentage of sales this relates to a EBIT margin of 18.7% versus 20.6%.
The tax ratio was 28.9% versus 29.1% in last year’s quarter.

Net Earnings/Earnings per share € 5.76

In Q1, net earnings reached € 90.1 million versus € 96.6 million last year. The net return amounts to 13.4% versus 14.7%. Earnings per share were € 5.76 versus € 6.02 last year. Diluted earnings per share were calculated at € 5.76 compared with € 6.01.

Net Assets and Financial Position

Equity ratio above 60%

As of March 31, 2008, total assets climbed by 0.8% to € 1,811.5 million and the equity ratio reached 60.4% after 60.9% in the previous year.

Working capital Inventories grew 5.9% to € 364.5 million, which is in line with or even better than the order growth end of the quarter. Accounts receivables were down 2.5%, reaching € 506.2 million, versus a sales growth of 2.7% during Q1. Total working capital at the end of March totaled € 521.1 million compared to € 496.1 million last year.

Capex/Cashflow

For Capex, the company spent € 24.3 million in Q1 versus € 14,8 million in last year’s quarter, whereas € 6.4 million were related to payment on accounts. In addition, € 16.6 million (last year: € 1.6 million) were financed for acquisition cost.
Due to the mentioned investments and the seasonal higher working capital requirement, free cashflow amounts to € -49.7 million compared to € -9.8 million last year. Excluding investment for acquisitions free cashflow was € -33.0 million versus € -8.2 million.

Cash position

Total cash end of March stood at € 357.2 versus € 402.4 million last year. Bank debts were up from € 63.5 million to € 67.1 million. As a result, the net cash position decreased from € 338.9 million to € 290.0 million year over year whereby € 107.7 million (last year: € 41.6 million) were spent for the share buyback program in the first quarter.

Share Buyback

PUMA purchased another 450,000 of its own shares during the first three months. At quarter-end, 575,000 shares were held as treasury stock in the balance sheet, accounting for 3.6% of total share capital.

Regional Development

Sales in the EMEA-region increased currency adjusted 9.7% reaching € 391.1 million versus € 360.9 million last year, with growth in all categories. The region now represents 58.1% of consolidated sales. Gross profit margin increased to 54.7% compared to 53.7% last year. Orders were up 10.9% currency adjusted to € 644.8 million.

Sales in the Americas were down currency neutral 5.6% to € 148.7 million. Footwear was below last year but accessories and apparel were up double-digit in the quarter. The region now accounts for 22.1% of consolidated sales. Gross profit margin further improved from 49.7% to strong 50.4%. The order book reported a currency neutral increase of 3.2%. In the US market, sales were down 14.2% to $ 134.1 million, affected by the continued moderate environment in the mall-based business. Orders for US end-of-quarter declined 20.8%.

Asia/Pacific reported the strongest growth with solid performance in all categories. Sales increased 13.3% currency neutral to € 133.5 million. The total region accounts for 19.8% of sales. Gross profit margin was strongly up by 160 basis points to 53.0%. Order books reached € 289.7 million, an increase of 23.7% over last year.

Outlook 2008

Future orders up 12% to nearly € 1.2 billion

In comparable terms, consolidated orders were up by 12.1%, or in reporting terms, orders increased 6.5% to € 1,170.4 million. Like-for-like, Footwear was up by 10.2% to € 677.9 million, Apparel improved 14.3% to € 418.2 million and Accessories 18.3% to € 74.3 million.>

Management confirms a single-digit sales increase on a currency neutral basis

Management reaffirms a currency adjusted single-digit sales growth for the fiscal year 2008 despite a continued difficult consumer environment.

During the exceptional sport year 2008 PUMA continues with its marketing investments as planed in order to support the long-term growth potential. The brand investments could affect 2008’s EBIT margin. In a volatile market environment it is difficult to outline the final impact on profitability.

Jochen Zeitz, CEO: “In the midst of an overall economic environment that continues to be challenging, PUMA has shown resiliency in both growth and desirability. Despite a difficult 2008 outlook, we will continue to invest in our planned initiatives to capitalize on major opportunities with global sporting events and fully maximize PUMA’s long-term potential.”

Highlights Q3

• Consolidated sales up more than 9% currency adjusted reaching € 713 million
• Gross profit margin remains on a high level at 53.6%
• EBIT reached € 125 million, up versus last yearEPS increase 4.5% from € 5.56 to € 5.81

Highlights January – September

• Global brand sales above € 2.1 billion
• Consolidated sales up almost 9% currency adjusted
• Gross profit margin above 53%
• EBIT at € 313 million versus € 320 million last year
• EPS at € 14.55 compared to € 14.40

Outlook 2008

• Orders increase 5% to € 1,163 million
• Management raises full-year sales guidance

Jochen Zeitz, CEO: ” Despite the very challenging economic situation and sluggish retail environment, PUMA was able to post another quarter of sales growth. Due to the year to date performance and our order books, we raise our sales guidance for our full-year outlook from a single-digit to a mid to high single-digit currency adjusted sales growth.”

Sales and Earnings Development

Global brand sales

PUMA’s brand sales, which include consolidated sales and license sales, reached € 778.6 million during Q3, thus a currency adjusted increase of 5.9% or 3.3% in Euro terms.

During the nine month period ending September, global brand sales increased currency adjusted 3.8% to € 2,148.6 million. Footwear sales increased 2.4% to € 1,158.1 million and Accessories 28.2% to € 252.6 million. Apparel sales decreased 0.4% to € 737.9 million.

Consolidated sales up 9% currency adjusted

Consolidated sales in Q3 grew 9.2% currency adjusted to € 712.7 million.

By segments, Footwear increased 13.1% to € 412.8 million, Apparel 1.8% to € 245.3 million and Accessories 16.7% to € 54.6 million.

Sales after nine months were up 8.8% currency adjusted to € 1,962.9 million. Footwear improved 6.3% to € 1,132.2 million, Apparel 10.8% to € 683.4 million and Accessories 20.5% to € 147.3 million.

Gross profit margin remains at a high level

In Q3, the gross profit margin increased another 60 basis points reaching 53.6%. After nine months, the gross profit margin remained on a high level at 53.2%. Footwear margin increased from 52.3% to 53.1% and Apparel margin from 52.5% to 53.3%. Accessories reported 53.3% versus 53.9% last year.

SG&A

Total SG&A expenses increased in Q3 by 9.5% to € 249.7 million and by 8.3% to € 710.6 million after nine months. As a percentage of sales, the cost ratio increased from 34.0% to 35.0% during Q3 and from 35.1% to 36.2% after nine months as expected. The higher cost ratio is due to the scheduled brand investments in marketing and retail.

For the nine month period, marketing/retail expenses increased 17.9% and accounted for € 371.1 million, representing a percentage of sales increase from 16.8% to 18.9%. Product development and design expenses were down 12.7% to € 37.6 million or from 2.3% to 1.9% of sales. Other selling, general and administrative expenses were up only 1.2% to € 301.9 million, which reflects a decline from 16.0% to 15.4% as a percentage of sales.

EBIT

In Q3, EBIT increased by 1.0% to € 125.0 million. Due to the aforementioned brand investments, EBIT for the nine months period reported € 313.2 million compared to € 319.7 million. Nevertheless, a strong EBIT margin of 17.5% (LY: 18.5%) and 16.0% (LY: 17.1%) respectively was achieved.

The tax ratio was calculated at 29.0% versus 29.5% in the quarter and 28.7% versus 29.0% in the nine month period.

Net earnings/Earnings per share

Net earnings in Q3 were on last year’s level and totaled € 89.0 million. Due to the brand investments, net earnings were down by 2.7% to € 224.7 million year-to-date. Net return reached 12.5% versus 13.3% and 11.4% versus 12.3% respectively.

Based on average outstanding shares, earnings per share were up 4.5% from € 5.56 to € 5.81 in Q3. Year-to-date earnings per share improved from € 14.40 to € 14.55.

Net Assets and Financial Position

Equity ratio above 62%

Total assets were down by 2.5% to € 1,906.6 million as of September 30, 2008 compared to September in the previous year. The equity ratio further strengthened from 60.0% to 62.3%.

Working Capital

Inventories grew 17.3% to € 432.0 million and include the new consolidation in Korea. Receivables were up 6.1%, reaching € 532.5 million and in line with top-line growth over the last months. Total working capital at the end of September increased 19.4% and totaled € 599.6 million, mainly due to the new consolidation and low liabilities at balance sheet date. On a like-for-like basis, working capital as percent of sales was up only slightly versus last year.

Capex/Cashflow

Total Capex for the nine months period was € 79.1 million compared to € 56.6 million last year. The higher investments are according to plan and related to payment on accounts. In addition, € 24.9 million versus € 4.9 million were financed for acquisition cost.

Free Cashflow (before acquisitions) totaled € 17.2 million versus € 154.3 million last year.

Cash position

Total cash end of September stood at € 297.3 million versus € 532.5 million last year. Bank debts were down from € 69.3 million to € 61.1 million. As a result, the net cash position decreased from € 463.2 million to € 236.2 million year-over-year mainly due to the investments in share buy-backs.

Own Shares

PUMA continued its share buy-back program and purchased another 150,000 of its own shares during Q3. As of September, 850,000 shares were held as treasury stock in the balance sheet, accounting for 5.3% of total share capital, a total investment of € 202.8 million. The shares were purchased during the period beginning November 2007 until September 2008.

Regional Development

Faced with a continued tough consumer environment, the EMEA region reported a solid growth of 4.2% currency adjusted in the quarter, reaching € 388.1 million. Year-to-date, sales increased 7.1% and totalled € 1,078.8 million. The region now accounts for 55.0% of consolidated sales. Gross profit margin showed another improvement and increased from 54.5% to 55.2%. The order book end of September was up 1.1% to € 578.4 million, whereby last years order book was strongly impacted by orders related to the 2008 sport events.

Q3 sales in the Americas were up strong 18.7% currency adjusted reaching € 184.7 million. During the nine months period, sales increased 8.6% currency adjusted to € 480.2 million. The region now accounts for 24.5% of consolidated sales. The gross profit margin was at 48.9% compared to 49.7% last year which was due to a higher distribution business in Latin America. The order volume end of September was up by favorable 20.5% to € 282.4 million.

Sales in theUSoutperformed the order books reported end of June once again and were slightly up in Q3. Sales through nine months were down only 5.4%. Orders end of September turned around and show continuing positive signs, being now up 9.1% to $ 204.7 million.

In the Asia/Pacific region, sales improved 11.9% currency adjusted to € 139.9 million in Q3 and by 14.0% to € 403.9 million year-to-date. The total region accounts for 20.6% of sales. The gross profit margin improved from 50.7% to 53.1%, mainly due to the consolidation of Korean market. Orders on hand were down 0.7% currency adjusted but were up 5.8% in Euro terms and totaled € 302.5 million.

Outlook 2008

Orders up 5%

Total orders as of September increased currency adjusted 4.7% totaling € 1,163.3 million. In Euro currency, orders were up by 5.3%. The orders are mainly for deliveries scheduled for Q4 2008 as well as Q1 2009.

In terms of product segments, Footwear orders are up currency adjusted by 6.8% to € 703.5 million, Apparel by 0.6% to € 393.1 million and Accessories by 8.4% to € 66.7 million.

Management raises full-year sales guidance

Given the results achieved so far this year as well as the order book for Q4, management raises its sales guidance for the full-year outlook from a single-digit to a mid to high single-digit currency adjusted growth.

As already announced, PUMA will continue with its brand investments as planned in order to explore the long-term growth potential.

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.

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.

Highlights Third Quarter:

• Consolidated sales at € 784 million, up 16.5% in Euro terms
• Gross profit margin remains at 50%
• Operating result before special items improves by 15.3% to € 113 million
• EPS rise from € 4.50 to € 5.16
• Usain Bolt remains long-term brand asset for PUMA
• PUMA AG to take over full control in China and Hong Kong
• Irregularities discovered in Greece

Highlights January-September:

• Consolidated sales increased 5.7% in Euro terms
• Gross profit margin slightly down versus last year at 50.8%
• Operating result before special items improved by 7.7% to € 296.1 million
• EBT before tax improved by 83.2% to € 292.0 million
• EPS increased to € 13.65 from € 7.42 last year
• Continued improvement in equity ratio

Outlook 2010:

• Based on a strong sales performance in the third quarter as well as an improvement in the overall outlook for the fourth quarter, Management now expects sales to be up in the mid to high single-digit for the full year 2010.
• Management expects an increase in EBIT before special items versus last year.
• Extraordinary one-time charge from PUMA Hellas S.A. affects results for 2010 as well as previous year.

Jochen Zeitz, CEO: “Unfortunately, the discovery of irregularities committed by our Greek Joint Venture Partner is casting a shadow on our solid financial performance in the quarter. However, we are pleased to see that PUMA’s operational performance improved significantly in the third quarter as we post a strong rise in sales and operating results. We expect the sales outlook to further improve for the fourth quarter and as a result we raise our forecast of growth to mid to high single digits for the full year 2010. Looking further ahead, we are positive about our capabilities and game plan to execute and deliver on our new “Back on The Attack” Plan 2015 with a potential of reaching four billion Euros. We have prepared our organization and are aligning our processes accordingly to execute our new plan. We are confident and optimistic about the large opportunities to further tap into our brand’s potential growth drivers that we will reveal today during our investor day presentations at the PUMAVision Headquarters in Herzogenaurach.”

Sales and Earnings Development

Global Brand Sales

Sales under the PUMA brand, which include consolidated and license sales, improved by 15.1% to € 828.6 million in the third quarter. In total, the quarter marked a very solid performance against the background of a still challenging global economic environment.

After nine months, global brand sales increased 4.8% and were close to € 2.2 billion despite a flat first half of the year.

Consolidated Sales

Currency-adjusted consolidated sales were up 6.5% to € 784.3 million in the quarter, which represents an increase of 16.5% in Euro terms. Footwear rose 6.0% currency-neutral to € 417.2 million, and Apparel sales improved by 1.3% to € 263.8 million. Accessories sales reported a significant improvement of 25.0% to € 103.3 million, which derives from organic growth as well as first time consolidations. In terms of regions, the Americas grew strongest with 26.7% currency-neutral while APAC advanced 1.4% currency-adjusted. EMEA softened slightly 1.1%.

After nine months, consolidated sales were up 5.7% in Euro terms and flat (-0.1%) currency-neutral at € 2,082.8 million. Despite a challenging market environment, sales in the Americas region jumped a strong 24.9 % with North- and Latin America reporting double-digit sales growth. Sales performance in the EMEA region was impacted by unfavorable market conditions in Southern and Eastern European countries and, therefore, posted a currency-adjusted decrease of 5.6%. Sales in Asia/Pacific were up 1.5% in reported terms but decreased 7.9% due to the strong fluctuations in currencies. In terms of segments, Footwear stood at € 1,117.2 million, representing a currency-neutral decline of 2.7% and Apparel sales softened slightly by 0.8% to € 699.2 million. Accessories sales, however, grew by 14.6% to € 266.4 million.

Gross Profit Margin

In the third quarter, PUMA’s gross profit margin decreased by 180 basis points to 50%. The decline was caused by price sensitivities in the EMEA region as well as changes in the regional as well as product mix.

After nine months, the gross profit margin stood at 50.8% after 51.4% last year. PUMA’s margin in Footwear remained flat at 50.2% while Apparel was at 51.6% after 52.2%. Accessories posted 51.1% compared to last year’s 54.8%. This decrease stems from the impact of the newly acquired and integrated Cobra Golf business carrying a low margin as the former owner, Acushnet, provided sales services outside the US until end of August.

Operating Expenses

The OPEX increased by 10.4% to € 283.6 million in the quarter. This rise is caused by the extension of the scope of business after Cobra Golf was included as well as currency impacts. On a comparable basis, operating expenses were flat, which is reflected in an improved OPEX ratio of 36.2%.

In the first nine months, operating expenses rose by 3.1% to € 776.4 million, which translates into an improved cost ratio of 37.3% versus last year’s 38.2%. The cost savings are a direct result of PUMA’s restructuring and reengineering program, which will be finalized during the fourth quarter 2010.

EBIT

In the third quarter, PUMA’s operating result before special items improved significantly by 15.3% to € 113.0 million versus € 98.0 million last year. As a percentage of sales, this translates into an operating margin of 14.4% compared to 14.5% last year.

As of September 30th, 2010, the operating result before special items rose 7.7% from € 275.1 million to € 296.1 million. The operating margin stood at a solid 14.2% compared to 14.0% last year.

Financial Result/Income from Associated Companies

The financial result shows a negative € 1.9 million for the third quarter and was flat versus last year.

For the first nine months, the financial result improved from € -5.6 million to € -4.6 million, while € 0.5 million of income was generated by associated companies.

Net Earnings

In the third quarter, PUMA’s pre-tax profit (EBT) improved by 15.7% to € 111.1 million after € 96.0 million. This led to an improvement in net earnings, which increased € 9.7 million or a strong 14.2% to € 77.6 million. Earnings per share went up to € 5.16 in the quarter compared to € 4.50 last year.

In the first nine months, earnings before tax stood at € 292.0 million versus € 159.4 million, an increase of 83.2%, while net earnings improved by 83.5% to € 205.5 million from € 112.0 million. Consequently, earnings per share jumped from € 7.42 to € 13.65. The operational tax ratio came in at 29.6% after being at 27.9% last year.

Net Assets and Financial Position

Equity

As of September 30th, 2010, the balance sheet total climbed by 18.4% to € 2,436.5 million. This increase was mainly caused by the inclusion of Cobra Golf as well as currency effects. The equity ratio improved from 59.1% in the previous year to 60.1% this year.

Working Capital

In reporting terms, inventories grew by 27.1% to € 452.9 million while – on a comparable basis – inventories rose by 6.3% to support the expected sales increase in the upcoming quarter. Due to the increase in sales in the quarter, accounts receivables were up by 14.2% (4.7% on a comparable basis), reaching € 606 million. Working capital totaled € 594.2 million (ex acquisition € 518 million) compared to € 523.3 million last year.

Capex/Cashflow

The company invested € 35.5 million in the first nine months into property, plant and equipment versus € 40.8 million last year. An outflow of € 102.4 million (last year: € 75.8 million) is related to acquisitions.

The free cashflow before acquisitions reached € 46.4 million compared to € 145.1 million last year.

Cash position

Total net cash position at the end of September increased to € 360.7 million from € 339.5 million last year, underlining PUMA’s strong financial position.

Share Repurchase

PUMA AG continued its share buyback program in the third quarter and, as of the reporting date, the company purchased 102,219 of its own shares. This equals 0.7% of the share capital and reflects an investment of € 23,4 million.

Other Events

Spain Arbitration Ruling

As announced within the 2010 half-year year financial statements, PUMA AG has filed a cancellation recourse against the arbitration ruling regarding the PUMA trademark rights in Spain. As of the reporting date, legal council and advisers continue to believe that a favourable outcome in this case is more likely than not.

PUMA takes over full control of Business in China as of January 1, 2011

PUMA AG will acquire the remaining 49% of the shares of its long-term Chinese joint venture Liberty China Holding Ltd, effective 1 January 2011, to be in full control of its business activities in China and Hong Kong. Liberty has been a Joint Venture between PUMA and Swire Resources Ltd., of which PUMA has owned 51%. Under the Liberty holding, PUMA China Ltd. and PUMA Hong Kong Ltd. have been responsible for the distribution of PUMA products in China for several years and will continue to do so.

Through the full take over, PUMA’s position in China will be further strengthened and maximized, making sure that the Sportlifestyle Company taps into the enormous potential that the largest market in Asia offers. PUMA will be in sole charge of driving its growth strategy to capture all opportunities on the Chinese market as part of PUMA’s five-year growth strategy. The impact on the consolidated financial statements will be insignificant, as the joint venture had already been consolidated within PUMA AG at 100% since its inception

Irregularities committed by Greek Joint Venture partner

As already mentioned in our ad hoc release on 25. October 2010, irregularities were discovered at PUMA’s Joint Venture ‘PUMA Hellas S.A.’ in Greece, which will affect PUMA’s consolidated financial statements for the full year 2010 and require a restatement of the 2009 figures in the 2010 statements. All necessary measures have been initiated and are on-going. For further information and details please refer to the ad hoc release of Monday, 25 October 2010, on www.about.puma.com

Outlook Full Year 2010

The second half of the year continues to show solid sales growth which should more than offset the flat performance in the first half of the year. Therefore, management now expects full year consolidated sales to grow at a mid to high single digit rate. Considering slight changes in the gross margin, operating result before special items should improve compared to last year.

###

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.

Highlights Fourth Quarter 2010

• Consolidated sales increased by 28.2% to € 623 million, posting record sales
• Gross profit margin softened to 45.4% due to shift in regional mix, hedging, and sourcing prices
• Operating result before special items increased by 2.6% to € 41.1 million
• EPS improved to € 0.93
• PUMA’s “Back on the Attack” plan presented in October outlined the company’s future growth strategy

Highlights January – December 2010

• Consolidated sales increased by 10.6% in Euro terms to more than € 2.7 billion for the first time
• Gross profit margin stood strong at 49.7%
• Operating result before special items improved by 12.7% to € 337.8 million
• EBT more than doubled to € 301.5 million
• Net earnings improved by 154.0% to € 202.2 million
• EPS increased significantly to € 13.45 from € 5.28 last year
• Balance sheet ratios and cash position remained strong

Outlook 2011

• Despite a lack of major sporting events in 2011, Management expects sales to increase by mid to high single-digits for the full year.
• Due to investments in marketing, product and process optimization that are part of our “Back on the attack” strategy, management expects the OPEX ratio to increase.
• Net Earnings expected to improve by mid single-digits assuming a modest increase in sourcing costs related to raw materials and wages.

Jochen Zeitz, CEO: “We finished the year with record sales in a strong quarter, contributing to an overall solid sales and operational performance in 2010, which clearly demonstrates the strength of our brand and company in an improving consumer environment. I am pleased to see that our sales outlook also continues to look positive and that PUMA’s organic growth is more than intact. We are well positioned to tap into PUMA’s full brand potential with our strategic five-year company growth plan. Our focus will now be to develop and grow our existing core product categories as well as PUMA’s key strategic markets, and to invest in marketing and R&D while continuing to boost our sales globally.”

The Year 2010

PUMA is back on the attack! In the past financial year 2010, PUMA posted a new record in sales and managed to increase profitability accordingly. Hence, PUMA has successfully overcome the economic crisis and has laid the foundation to achieve the growth targets defined for the coming years.

The football World Cup on the African continent, where PUMA sponsored seven of the participating teams, of which four were African teams, proved to be a particular highlight for the PUMA brand in 2010. Furthermore, the Company celebrated the extension of the sponsoring agreement with Usain Bolt, and also witnessed Sebastian Vettel being crowned as the youngest world champion in the history of Formula One. Sebastian Vettel belongs to the Red Bull racing team, which was sponsored by PUMA. In addition to these sporting highlights, PUMA set new standards in 2010 through the introduction of a revolutionary new packing system, “Clever Little Bag” which was part of a comprehensive sustainability drive that was introduced to the public with the mission of PUMA to be the most desirable and sustainable Sportlifestyle company.

In the full year 2010, global brand sales increased by 3.1% currency-adjusted, while consolidated sales rose by 3.6% currency-adjusted. In Euro terms sales increased by 10.6% to more than € 2.7 billion successfully resuming the positive sales trend that was interrupted by the financial crisis in 2009. PUMA’s gross profit margin decreased slightly to 49.7%, maintaining its position in the upper echelons of the sporting goods industry. The cost reduction, reorganization and process optimization measures that had already been initiated by Management in the year before were continued in 2010. However, one-off expenses of € 31.0 million, which are related to the discovery of fraudulent activities at a joint venture in Greece, incurred in the reporting year, which also required a restatement of the comparative figures for December 31, 2009.

Including the above-mentioned special items, the operating profit (EBIT) more than doubled to 306.8 million from € 146.4 million last year, and earnings per share stood at € 13.45, compared to € 5.28 in the previous year.

PUMA’s expansion strategy was successfully continued in 2010 by means of acquisition of the “Cobra Golf” brand, completing our product range within the golf category with clubs. Within the scope of its sustainability strategy, PUMA acquired a 20.1% stake in Wilderness Holdings Ltd., a company dedicated to responsible eco-tourism and nature conservation.

PUMA’s share price was € 248.00 at the end of the year, posting an increase of 7.0% year-on-year, which resulted in market capitalization of approximately € 3.7 billion.

Sales and Earnings Development 4th Quarter 2010

In the fourth quarter 2010 consolidated sales increased by 16.1% currency-adjusted and 28.2% in Euro terms, reaching € 623.4 million and hence record sales in the company history.
All regions contributed positively to this performance. Currency adjusted sales in EMEA were up 8.8%, Americas sales increased significantly by 27.8% and Asia/Pacific improved by 13.1%.
Footwear sales increased by 15.7% currency-adjusted and Apparel by 16.9%. Sales in Accessories increased by 15.1%, while first time consolidation effects had only a minor impact on this category in Q4.
The gross profit margin decreased to 45.4%, down 500 basis points from last year’s fourth quarter. This decline is partially attributable to the change in the regional sales mix and traditionally higher close-out sales as well as an unfavourable hedging position and higher input costs.
Operating expenses increased disproportionately compared to the growth of sales by 17.6% to € 246.9 million. As a result, the cost ratio significantly improved from 43.2% to 39.6%.
The operating profit (before special items) increased by 2.6% from € 40.0 million to € 41.1 million. Including special items, the operating profit improved significantly from € 6.7 million to € 27.9 million or from 1.4% to 4.5% as a percentage of sales.
The earnings per share amount to € 0.93 in the quarter, after a loss in the prior year.

Sales and Earnings Development January-December 2010

Global Brand Sales

Worldwide brand sales comprised of consolidated and license sales increased by 3.1% to € 2,862.1 million in financial year 2010 after currency adjustments. In reported terms (Euro), brand sales were up 9.8% compared to last year.

Consolidated Sales

Consolidated sales increased currency-adjusted by 3.6% to € 2,706.4 million in financial year 2010. In Euro terms consolidated sales rose by 10.6% and exceeded the threshold of € 2.7 billion for the first time. PUMA’s sales performance has thereby returned to the long-term growth trend of 16 years that had been halted in 2009 by the financial crisis. The Footwear segment posted a sales increase of 1.1% currency-adjusted to € 1,424.8 million. This represented a share in consolidated sales of 52.6% compared to 54.0% in the previous year. Currency-adjusted sales in the Apparel segment rose by 3.8% to € 941.3 million. The share in consolidated sales increased to 34.8% from 34.6% last year. Currency-adjusted Accessories sales grew by 14.9% to € 340.3 million, which is mainly attributable to the expansion of the consolidated group as a result of the acquisition of Cobra Golf. As a consequence, the share of the Accessories segment in consolidated sales increased to 12.6% compared to 11.4% in the previous year.

Gross Profit Margin

The gross profit margin declined by 110 basis points to 49.7% and continues to be among the upper echelons of the sporting goods industry. The margin drop derives, in particular, from the change in the regional sales mix, a slight increase in sourcing costs and unfavourable hedging positions in 2010 compared with 2009. In absolute figures, however, the gross profit margin increased from € 1,243.1 million to € 1,344.8 million or 8.2%. In terms of product segments, the gross profit margin in Footwear was at 48.9% compared to 49.8% last year. The Apparel margin decreased from 51.3% to 50.6% and Accessories decreased from 54.1% to 50.6%, which stems from the impact of the newly acquired and integrated Cobra Golf business.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses before special items rose – disproportionately to the growth of sales – by 6.4% to € 1,026.1 million in 2010. This increase derives from currency impacts and the extension of the scope of business after Cobra Golf and the new subsidiary PUMA Spain were included. As a percentage of sales, PUMA managed to reduce the cost ratio to 37.9% after 39.4% in the previous year. This is also a direct result from the cost reduction program of 2009.
Marketing and Retail expenses remained almost unchanged at € 501.3 million. However, the corresponding cost ratio dropped significantly from 20.5% to 18.5% of sales. Owing to the rise in sales revenues and expansion of the consolidated group, other selling expenses increased by 12.6% to € 348.8 million or from 12.7% to 12.9% as a percentage of sales. Expenses for product development and design increased from € 58.1 million to € 63.6 million or decreased from 2.4% to 2.3% as a percentage of sales. Other General & Administration expenses increased by 11.9% to € 147.9 million which derives from acquisitions and currency effects. As a result, the cost ratio increased slightly from 5.4% to 5.5% of sales. Furthermore, operating income amounted to € 35.5 million after € 35.7 million last year.
Depreciation was at € 55.2 million. Compared to the previous year, this corresponds to a decrease of 8.4%, underlining PUMA’s cautious investment policy.

EBIT before special items

Operating profit before special items increased by 12.7% to € 337.8 million compared to € 299.7 million last year. As a percentage of sales, this corresponds to an improved operating margin of 12.5% versus 12.2% in 2009.

EBIT

The uncovering of irregularities at our joint venture in Greece resulted in one-off expenses of
€ 31.0 million in financial year 2010. In addition the comparative figures in the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2009 had to be restated (cf. Section 3 in the Notes to the consolidated financial statements). As a result, the retained earnings as of December 31, 2009 decreased by € 106.5 million. Including the special items, the operating profit (EBIT) generated in 2010 more than doubled to € 306.8 million from € 146.4 in the previous year. This corresponds to an operating margin of 11.3% as a percentage of sales after 6.0% in 2009. After reviewing and correcting this incident, Management does not expect further one-off expenses related to this matter. PUMA has asserted all claims according to criminal law against the Greek Joint Venture minority partner and members of the local Greek management. Currently, there is no new information relating to this matter.

Financial Result

Following PUMA’s acquisition of a 20.1% stake in Wilderness Holdings Ltd., a company dedicated to responsible ecotourism and nature conservation, the financial statements for 2010 include a financial result (€ 1.8 million) from an associated company. The total financial result amounted to € -5.3 million, compared to € -8.0 million in the previous year.
The financial result includes interest income amounting to € 4.4 million after € 3.8 million last year, as well as interest expenses of € 5.9 million after € 6.6 million in 2009. Furthermore, expenses relating to interest in connection with accumulated, long-term purchase price liabilities from corporate acquisitions of € 4.3 million (previous year: € 4.1 million), as well as expenses of € 1.3 million (previous year: € 1.1 million) derived from the valuation of pensions plans.

Earnings before Taxes

Compared to the previous year, earnings before taxes (EBT) rose significantly from € 138.4 million to
€ 301.5 million or from 5.7% to 11.1% as a percentage of sales. This improvement results from the increase in sales, the cost reductions generated through the restructuring program and lower one-off expenses. Tax expenses increased from € 61.1 million to € 99.3 million. The tax rate in the 2010 financial statements was 32.9% after 44.1% in 2009. In both years, one-off expenses that could not be claimed as tax-deductibles led to the high tax ratio.

Net Earnings

Consolidated net earnings increased to € 202.2 million after € 79.6 million in 2009. The net rate of return improved significantly to 7.5% compared to 3.3% in the previous year. Earnings per share increased from € 5.28 to € 13.45 while diluted earnings per share rose from € 5.27 to € 13.37.

Regional Development

Sales in the EMEA region decreased by 2.5% currency-adjusted to € 1,221.7 million. However, in Euro terms, sales increased by 1.5% compared to last year. The share of the EMEA region in consolidated sales amounted to 45.1% compared to 49.2%. In terms of product segments, currency-adjusted Footwear sales decreased 9.1%. Apparel sales, however, increased 2.1% currency-adjusted while Accessories sales rose 9.9%. The gross profit margin stood at 50.6% compared to 52.2% last year.
The Americas region posted an increase in currency-adjusted sales by 20.0% to € 855.9 million. The Latin America region contributed significantly to this performance. This resulted in an increase in the share in consolidated sales from 27.2% to 31.6%. Footwear sales were up by 16.8% currency-adjusted and Apparel sales posted a strong 21.8% increase. Accessories sales rose by 53.5% which is mainly due to the acquisition of Cobra Golf. The gross profit margin amounted to 46.6% after 48.2% in 2009.
Sales in the Asia/Pacific region decreased slightly by 2.6% currency-adjusted to € 628.8 million. However, sales increased by 8.8% in reported terms. The share in consolidated sales remained stable at 23.2% after 23.6% in 2009. Footwear sales decreased by 6.1% currency-adjusted and Apparel sales by 1.9% while Accessories sales posted a 5.4% increase. The gross profit margin improved from 50.8% to 52.0%.

Net Assets and Financial Position

Equity

Total assets as of December 31, 2010, increased by 22.9% from € 1,925.0 million to € 2,366.6 million. This results from an increase in inventories and trade receivables – both partly currency-related – and an expansion of the consolidated group. Owing to a significant rise in total assets, the equity ratio declined slightly from 58.9% to 58.6%. However, in absolute figures, shareholders’ equity increased by 22.3% to € 1,386.4 million, compared to € 1,133.3 million. As in previous years, PUMA’s financial resources remain solid.

Working Capital

Working capital increased by 25.2%, rising from € 323.2 million to € 404.5 million. This increase stems from currency-related effects and the expansion of the consolidated group. As a percentage of sales, this corresponds to a slight increase from 13.2% to 14.9%. The rise in working capital is mainly attributable to the increase in inventories of 27.7% to € 439.7 million which is necessary to accommodate our expected sales growth in 2011 and an increase in trade receivables of 28.7% to € 447.0 million resulting from the strong increase in sales in Q4 as well as currency impacts.

Cashflow/Capex

The gross cashflow rose by 28.7% to € 358.4 million in 2010, which is due to the increase in earnings before taxes (EBT). The change in net current assets reflects a net cash outflow of € 97.0 million compared to a net cash inflow of € 116.8 million reported in the previous year. This derives from increases in inventories and trade receivables. Taxes, interest and other payments remained stable at € 92.0. In summary, cash provided by operating activities stood at € 169.4 million after € 303.9 million last year.
Net cash used for investing activities increased from € 136.6 million to € 152.3 million. This major portion of the increase is attributable to the payments for acquisitions, which rose by 32.5% from € 81.8 million in the previous year to € 108.4 million and relate mainly to the purchase of Cobra and Wilderness. Also included are current investments in fixed assets (Capex) which amount to € 55.2 million after € 54.5 million. As a result, the free cashflow declined from € 167.3 million to € 17.1 million. Excluding payments made for acquisitions in 2010, the free cashflow fell from € 249.1 million to € 125.5 million. As a percentage of sales, free cashflow (before acquisitions) amounted to 4.6% after 10.2%.
Net cash used for financing activities mainly includes dividend payments of € 27.1 million and investments relating to the purchase of treasury shares of € 23.4 million.
Cash and cash equivalents remained almost unchanged at € 479.6 million.

Dividend

The Board of Management and the Supervisory Board will propose to the Annual General Meeting on April 14, 2011, that a dividend of € 1.80 per share (the same as in the previous year) to be paid for the financial year 2010 from the retained earnings of PUMA AG. The unchanged dividend corresponds to the improvement in the consolidated result, while taking the restatement of last years financial results into consideration. The dividend is to be paid out on the day after the Annual General Meeting when the profit distribution is authorized.

Share buy back

In 2010, PUMA purchased 102,219 of its own shares and held 101,593 of its own shares at the end of the year resulting in an investment of € 23.4 million.

Other Events

PUMA AG to convert into a Societas Europaea (SE)

In our ad hoc release on October 25, 2010, PUMA AG outlined its intention to adopt a new legal structure by transforming into a European Corporation, PUMA SE. As part of the transformation, PUMA intends to convert its current two-tier board structure with a management board and a supervisory board to the more flexible and international structure of a one-tier Board. Additionally, managing directors will be responsible for the general management of PUMA SE.

At the upcoming annual general meeting in April 2011, the shareholders will be asked to vote on the change of PUMA AG’s corporate structure.

Outlook 2011

In 2010 – especially in the second half – economic conditions improved compared to 2009. Despite the lack of major sporting events, we believe that the company should achieve an increase in sales in the mid to high single-digit percentage range in the next two years. At last year’s investor conference, PUMA presented its five-year company strategy “Back on the Attack 2011-2015”, which aims at achieving a significant sales increase in particular within PUMA’s core markets, fueled by investments in brand and product complemented by optimized business processes, especially in the first couple of years of our expansion strategy. As a result, the expense ratio is expected to increase compared to the previous year’s level, while gradually decreasing in the subsequent years. We expect an improvement in net earnings in the mid single-digit percentage range for 2011 and 2012 on the basis of modest increases in procurement prices.

Highlights Second Quarter 2011

• Consolidated sales increased by 14.1% currency adjusted to a record second quarter high of € 674 million

• Gross profit margin holding up well at 49.1% despite pressure from external factors

• EBIT 3.2% above last year at € 55.4 million

• Net earnings up 10.6% to € 37.6 million

• EPS up to € 2.51 from € 2.26 last year

Highlights First Half 2011

• Consolidated sales up by 11.5% currency adjusted to a record € 1.45 billion

• Gross profit margin still a strong 50.9%

• EBIT 2.5% above last year at € 166.4 million

• Net earnings improved by 8.2% to € 115.3 million

• EPS increased to € 7.69 from € 7.07 last year

Outlook for the Financial Year 2011

• PUMA’s continued business success over the past six months confirmed the Management view that the 3 billion milestone in sales for the full year of 2011 is attainable.

• Sourcing cost increases caused by rising prices for commodities and higher wages in Asia will continue to impact gross margins. PUMA will continue to support business growth and the “Back on the Attack” growth strategy; thus investments in marketing, sales, product development as well as process optimization will continue to affect overall expenses.

• Although increases in sourcing costs and continued investments in brand and product will impact overall operational results, management foresees continuous improvement of net earnings by mid single-digits for the full year.

“I could not have asked for a better start to my new position as PUMA’s CEO than to announce the best second quarter in PUMA’s history in terms of sales, a performance that underlines our ambition to achieve our sales target of 3 billion Euros for this year,” said Franz Koch, CEO of PUMA SE. “The investments into our core markets, in line with our Back on the Attack company growth strategy, have started to pay off and we will continue to strengthen our brand and product in order to become the most desirable and sustainable sportlifestyle company in the world.“

PUMA’s Q2 Sales Record underpinned by Running Category and strong Growth in Latin America and Asia

With the global economic recovery having gained strength, the Sportlifestyle company PUMA posted a strong second quarter growth in consolidated sales of 14.1% currency-adjusted and 9.4% in Euro terms to € 673.5 million compared to last year, representing PUMA’s best ever second quarter sales performance.

PUMA Faas is building up momentum

With all product categories contributing to this increase, Footwear rose 16.2% currency adjusted to € 352.6 million, Apparel went up 10.7% to € 224.3 million and Accessories again posted an eye catching 15.0% increase to € 96.7 million. In particular, PUMA’s Running category grew significantly, boosted by the ongoing top seller PUMA Faas, a lightweight neutral racer for tempo runs and racing. The shoe is constructed with BioRide Technology, an integrated system that provides more natural running rhythm and enhanced speed. Another Performance category that performed well in the second quarter was Cobra-PUMA-GOLF as a result of synergies arising from the Cobra Golf integration.

In the Teamsport category, PUMA claimed another champion title with Uruguay winning the Copa America for the 15th time, building on their fourth place at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The team also achieved their second-ever qualification for the FIFA Confederations Cup to be held in Brazil in 2013. Uruguay beat Paraguay 3-0 in Sunday’s final, becoming the most successful team in the tournament’s history. The FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany provided another great opportunity, where PUMA further strengthened its brand awareness in Women’s Football. PUMA sponsored eight PUMA players on the German team as well as international stars from England, Canada, Norway, Sweden, France and the USA as well as brand ambassador Marta of Brazil, who all sported the PUMA Speed v1.11 football boot. In fact, the v1.11 scored most goals in the tournament, 16 in total.

Over the first half of this year sales across all categories increased in pace. Footwear sales were up 9.9% (10.9% currency adjusted), Apparel sales were up 7.0% (6.1% currency adjusted) and Accessories were up 29.4% (28.3% currency adjusted) partly due to the full year effect of Cobra golf.

Latin America and Asia remain the main growth areas

In regional terms, PUMA continued its excellent performance in the Americas with sales growing by 16.9% currency-adjusted to € 226 million. Latin America and Asia excelled with a strong double-digit rise with Lifestyle and PUMA’s Motorsport categories being the main growth drivers.

Sales in EMEA grew by 9.2% currency-adjusted to € 290 million with satisfying performances in both Western and Eastern Europe. Spain advanced significantly after a PUMA subsidiary was opened in the second quarter of last year. Women’s Fitness (Bodytrain) increased by double-digit rates.

Asia/Pacific posted a gain of 20.1% currency adjusted to € 158 million, as sales in Japan have recovered much faster than anticipated in the aftermath of the earthquake disaster, posting double-digit growth. PUMA’s Lifestyle (PUMA Social), Running (Faas and light-weight gear) and Fitness (Bodytrain) categories drove the overall growth.

Half-year EMEA sales are up 7.3% (6.5% currency adjusted), the Americas are up a satisfying 14.3% (18.4% currency adjusted) and Asia/Pacific is up an impressive 16.5% (13.0% currency adjusted).

Gross Profit Margin at industry-leading levels

The gross profit margin remained at an industry leading 49.1%, which is testament to PUMA’s continuing efforts to maximize returns and efficiencies.

The Footwear segment had a gross profit margin of 48.1%, down from 50.7%. Apparel stood at 48.9%, down from 52.1%. Both segments were impacted by slightly higher sourcing costs as well as negative currency impacts from hedging. Accessories were at 53.3%, a sharp jump from 46.3% which is based on last year’s impact of the Cobra takeover.

Overall the half year gross profit margin is down slightly to 50.9% after 51.5% last year. The Footwear margin is currently at 49.8%, Apparel at 51.4% and Accessories at 53.7%.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses rose by 10.3% to € 279.9 million during the second quarter of 2011. As a percentage of sales, this represents a slight increase from 41.2% to 41.6% compared to last year. For the full year to the end of June 2011, OPEX rose by 15.9% to € 578.5 million. Increases in expenditure arose from our continued investments outlined in our 5-year growth plan and the full year effects caused by the extension of the scope of consolidation with Cobra and PUMA Spain now fully included.

EBIT

Operating profit came in as expected, improving to € 55.4 million from € 53.6 million. This represents 8.2% of consolidated sales, down slightly from a rate of 8.7% at this time last year. On a half year basis EBIT is up slightly to € 166.4 million.

Financial Result / Income from associated companies

The financial result declined from € -1.3 million to € -1.6 million, however, the half year number improved from € -2.7 million last year to € -1.8 million.

Earnings before Taxes

PUMA’s second quarter EBT rose from € 52.3 million to € 53.8 million. They also rose from € 159.6 million to € 164.6 million on a half yearly basis. Quarterly tax expenses declined from € 18.2 million to € 16.2 million and the tax rate dropped from 34.9% to a normalized tax rate of 30.0%.

Net Earnings

Consolidated net earnings increased by 10.6% to € 37.6 million from € 34.0 million in 2010. Earnings per share rose from € 2.26 to € 2.51, and diluted earnings per share were up from € 2.25 to € 2.51.

For the first half of 2011, net earnings rose by 8.2% to € 115.3 million. EPS increased by 8.8% to € 7.69.

Net Assets and Financial Position

Equity

Total assets (as of 30th June 2011) grew by 2.6% from € 2,284.8 million to € 2,343.4 million. This rise is primarily attributable to an increase in non-current assets in the form of deferred taxes and non-current assets as a result of our ongoing capital investment program. The equity ratio rose from 58.6% to 59.4%. In absolute figures, shareholders’ equity increased by 4.1% to € 1,392.5 million from € 1,338.3 million. PUMA’s balance sheet remains strong.

Working Capital

PUMA’s overall Working Capital went up by 13.0% to € 509 million. On the asset side, inventories went up by 12.1% from € 453.1 million to € 508.0 million, supporting our continued and expected sales growth. Trade receivables also increased, up 5.0% from € 497.1 million to € 522.0 million. This again is an effect of our growth in sales compared to this point in time last year. On the liabilities side, trade payables rose 7.6% from € 395.4 million to € 425.3 million.

Cashflow/ Capex

The Free Cashflow (before acquisitions) came in at € -9.2 million versus € 57.2 million last year. The additional outflow resulted from tax payments and higher working capital needed as well as higher CAPEX. The payments for acquisitions are related to the purchase of the outstanding shares in our Chinese venture. For Capex, the company spent € 29.1 million versus € 18.5 million in 2010. The increase derives mainly from investments in the improvement of organizational processes and IT as well as in the expansion of our Retail store portfolio, which are necessary components of our growth strategy.

Cash Position

Total cash (as of 30th June, 2011) dropped by 21.6% to € 351.6 million from € 448.3 million last year. Bank debts were reduced by 41.2% from € 51.5 million to € 30.3 million. As a result, the net cash position decreased 19.0%, from € 396.8 million to € 321.3 million.

Share buyback

PUMA continued with its share buy-back program and purchased 72.853 shares for € 15.7 million during the second quarter. The company now holds 173.377 shares in total as treasury stock which equals 1.15% of the subscribed capital.

Other Events

PUMA AG converts to a Societas Europaea (SE)

With the completion of the transformation on July 25th,, 2011, Franz Koch has become Chief Executive Officer, with Jochen Zeitz taking over as Chairman of the Administrative Board of PUMA SE. At the same time, he will lead PPR’s Sport & Lifestyle Division. In this role, he will ensure PUMA SE’s continuous and strategic growth within the framework of the next phase of development and support the drive to sustainability as PPR’s Chief Sustainability Officer.

SPANISH Court Ruling

As already announced in an ad hoc release on 17th of June, 2011 the arbitration ruling of 2nd June, 2010 by a Spanish arbitration panel regarding the one-time payment of 98 million Euros has been repealed by the District Court of Madrid. PUMA is therefore no longer obliged to pay the amount of 98 million Euros.

Outlook for the Financial Year 2011

PUMA continues to target the € 3 billion sales mark for the full year which reflects a continuation of our first-half sales. There will, however, continue to be pressure on gross profit margins in the shape of higher raw material prices and Asian wage increases, although PUMA has thus far shown an ability to keep its gross profit margins at the highest level within the industry. Despite higher operating expenditures which are in line with the overall strategy, PUMA expects absolute net earnings to improve in the mid single digit range.

Highlights Third Quarter 2011

• Consolidated sales increased by 10.2% currency adjusted to € 841.6 million

• Gross profit margin remained at 50.0% despite volatile input prices

• EBIT improved by 1,8% to € 118.6 million

• Net earnings remained flat at € 81.7 million

• EPS are up to € 5.45 from € 5.43

• PUMA has signed football stars Agüero, Falcao and Fàbregas

Highlights First Nine Months of 2011

• Consolidated sales climbed 11.0% currency adjusted to € 2.3 billion

• Gross profit margin remained at a sector-best 50.6%

• EBIT rose by 2.2% to € 285.0 million

• Net earnings improved by 4.7% to € 197.1 million

• EPS increased from € 12.51 to € 13.15

Outlook for the remainder of the Financial Year 2011

• PUMA’s management reiterates that PUMA’s target is € 3 billion in sales for the full year.

• In light of PUMA’s “Back on the Attack” growth strategy, investments and expenses will remain at a high level, and gross profit margins will continue to be stressed based on procurement price volatilities.

• Management continues to foresee an improvement of net earnings in mid single-digits for the full year.

“PUMA posted a very solid sales performance for the fifth consecutive quarter,” said Franz Koch, CEO of PUMA SE.”This underpins our 5-year growth strategy, which is already delivering results. After a strong performance in the first nine months of this year, we are now approaching our sales target of € 3 billion for the full year, and despite continuing cost pressures we maintain our forecast of an improvement in net earnings in mid single-digits.“

Asia/Pacific and Latin America drive PUMA’s Sales Growth in the Third Quarter – Performance Business accelerating

PUMA’s third-quarter consolidated sales rose 10.2% currency adjusted and 7.3% in Euro terms to € 841.6 million compared to last year, representing the most successful quarterly performance in the firm’s history. Asia and Latin America provided the platform for these numbers, underpinning the excellent overall result with double-digit growth.

With all product categories contributing to this increase, Footwear rose 7.0% currency adjusted to € 431.1 million, Apparel went up 13.8% to € 294.7 million and Accessories climbed 13.9% to € 115.8 million.

PUMA’s Running category in particular grew significantly, boosted by Usain Bolt’s spectacular performances at the Track & Field World Championships in Daegu and by the light-weight concept which includes our best selling PUMA Faas range. The shoe is constructed with BioRide Technology which provides runners with a naturally responsive ride. PUMA’s Women’s Fitness category is growing strongly, a consequence of enhanced targeting of the female consumer demographic with PUMA’s Bodytrain concept. PUMA’s Sailing category also improved, as sales have been accelerating in the run-up to PUMA’s participation in the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012. Given the duration of this sailing marathon and in the light of our new extended range of outdoor products, PUMA expects the positive performance of its Sailing category to continue.

PUMA’s five-year growth plan “Back on the Attack” already yielding fruit

As previously detailed, PUMA is continuing to work on improving its performance categories without losing sight of its Sportlifestyle positioning as a brand. This was laid out in the company’s growth strategy one year ago, which focused on strengthening PUMA’s Sports Performance business alongside its lifestyle segment. To further boost PUMA’s brand visibility on international football pitches and underline our position as the No. 3 football brand, PUMA signed three of the world’s top football stars during the third quarter: Manchester City’s Sergio Agüero, Atletico Madrid’s Falcao and FC Barcelona’s Cesc Fàbregas.

PUMA also introduced its new football boot, the Powercat 12. These boots will be worn by Fàbregas, Nemanja Vidic of Manchester United and Gianluigi Buffon, goalkeeper of the Italian National Team, amongst others. This innovative boot features the new PUMA 3D DUO Power Shooting Technology, applied to the inside of the boot.

Cobra-PUMA-Golf also continues to perform well, where the 360 degree offering appeals to discerning consumers. PUMA also congratulates its brand ambassador and golf professional Lexi Thompson who, at 16 years of age, has become the youngest ever winner on the LPGA tour in America.

Asia/Pacific and Latin America remain the main growth areas in the quarter

In regional terms, PUMA continued its excellent performance in Asia/Pacific, with sales growing by 16.4% currency-adjusted to € 196.0 million. Light-weight Running gear such as the Faas range and Women’s Fitness products (Bodytrain) drove the overall growth in this region.

EMEA also performed well, posting an increase of 9.5% currency adjusted to € 410.6 million. Russia, Turkey, Spain and Germany in particular contributed to this performance.

Sales in the Americas grew by 6.7% currency-adjusted but were down 0.7% in Euro terms at € 235.0 million. Latin America delivered a remarkable top-line performance, reflecting broad-based double-digit growth across all countries in the region, while North America had to comp against strong double-digit growth numbers from the previous year.

Consolidated sales for the nine-month period climbed 11.0% currency adjusted (9.9% in Euro terms) to € 2.29 billion. EMEA sales rose 7.7% (7.6% currency adjusted), the Americas improved a satisfying 8.7% (14.2% currency adjusted) and Asia/Pacific climbed an impressive 16.4% (14.3% currency adjusted).

Nine-month sales across all product categories continued to climb. Footwear sales were up 7.5% (9.5% currency adjusted), Apparel sales increased 8.8% (8.9% currency adjusted) and Accessories grew 22.7% (22.8% currency adjusted), due in part to the full year effect of the Cobra golf acquisition last year.

Gross Profit Margin remains at industry-leading levels despite cost pressure

PUMA’s ongoing efficiency drive has resulted in a third quarter gross profit margin of 50.0%, which remains the industry leading number.

The Footwear segment had a gross profit margin of 49.8%, up from 49.7%. Apparel stood at 50.3%, up from 50.0%. Accessories were at 50.0%, a decline from 51.8% which can be attributed to higher procurement costs.

For the first nine months of 2011, gross profit margin is down slightly to 50.6% from 51.0% compared to last year. The Footwear margin is currently at 49.8% down from 50.4%, Apparel down from 51.9% to 50.9% and Accessories up from 51.2% to 52.4%.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses rose by 9.7% to € 307.0 million during the third quarter of 2011. As a percentage of sales, this represents a slight increase from 35.7% to 36.5% compared to last year. For the full year to the end of September 2011, Operating expenses rose by 13.6% to € 885.5 million. Increases in expenditure arose from our continued investments outlined in our 5-year growth plan and the full year effects caused by the extension of the scope of consolidation with Cobra and PUMA Spain now fully included. The majority of those incremental increases went into Marketing, Product Design and enhancements in our supply chain.

EBIT

Operating profit improved to € 118.6 million from € 116.6 million in line with expectations. This represents 14.1% of consolidated sales versus 14.9% at this time last year. On a nine month basis EBIT was up 2.2% to € 285.0 million.

Financial Result / Income from associated companies

The financial result declined from € -1.4 million to € -2.1 million, however, the nine month number improved from € -4.1 million last year to € -3.9 million.

Earnings before Taxes

PUMA’s third quarter EBT rose from € 115.1 million to € 116.6 million. They also rose from € 274.8 million to € 281.1 million on a nine month basis. Quarterly tax expenses increased from € 33.4 million to € 34.9 million and the tax rate increased from 29.0% to 30.0% in the quarter but improved from 31.5% to 30.0% as of September 30, 2011.

Net Earnings

Consolidated net earnings were flat at € 81.7. Earnings per share rose from € 5.43 to € 5.45, and diluted earnings per share were up from € 5.39 to € 5.45.
For the first nine months of 2011, net earnings rose by 4.7% to € 197.1 million. EPS increased by 5.1% to € 13.15.

Net Assets and Financial Position

Equity

Total assets(as of September 30, 2011) grew by 4.5% from € 2,319.0 million to € 2,422.5 million. This rise is primarily attributable to an increase in both inventories and trade receivables based on the additional volume in business. The equity ratio rose sharply from 57.8% to 62.9%, signifying further improvement in our capital base. In absolute figures, shareholders’ equity increased by 13.7% from € 1,340.2 million to € 1,524.3 million.

Working Capital

PUMA’s overall Working Capital went up by 35.0% to € 668.7 million. On the asset side, inventories went up by 18.5% from € 449.2 million to € 532.4 million, supporting our continued and expected sales growth in addition to our new styles and offerings. Trade receivables also increased, up 13.3% from € 538.9 million to € 610.5 million. This again is an effect of our growth in sales compared to this point in time last year.

Cashflow/ Capex

The Free Cashflow (before acquisitions) came in at € -89.4 million versus € 57.9 million last year. The additional outflow resulted from tax payments and higher working capital needed as well as higher CAPEX. For Capex, the company spent € 44.6 million versus € 35.5 million in 2010. The increase derives mainly from investments in the improvement of organizational processes and IT systems as well as in the expansion of our Retail store portfolio, all of which continue to be integral components of our growth strategy.

Cash Position

Total cash (as of September 30, 2011) dropped by 30.7% to € 289.5 million from € 417.9 million last year. Bank debts were reduced by 39.9% from € 57.2 million to € 34.4 million. As a result, the net cash position decreased 29.3%, from € 360.7 million to € 255.1 million.

Share buyback

PUMA did not activate its share buyback program during the third quarter of 2011.

Outlook for the Financial Year 2011

Going into the final quarter of 2011, we reiterate that PUMA’s target is €3 billion in sales for the full year. Our overall outlook remains positive despite the current uncertainty afflicting various markets at this time. We anticipate ongoing input cost volatility, although we have demonstrated in the third quarter that our ability to maintain gross profit margins remains undiminished. As previously communicated, our current elevated operating and capital expenditures are an integral part of our growth strategy. None the less, we continue to expect full year net earnings to improve in the mid-single digit range.