“The first quarter of 2016 developed as we expected. We saw organic growth in all segments and all regions. The development in certain currencies slowed down the reported growth in both top and bottom line”, commented Bjørn Gulden, Chief Executive Officer of Puma SE, adding: “Both in our own retail and with our retail partners we see a continuous improvement….We do now look forward to this year´s great sport events. The Copa América, the UEFA Euro 2016, and the Olympics in Rio are all events that will have a positive impact on our industry and where we look forward to showcase PUMA as an innovative and design driven sports brand. Despite the negative impact of currencies we confirm our outlook for the full year.”

Puma's sales growth continued in the first quarter of 2016. Sales increased by 3.7% totaling 851.9 million euros (+7.3% currency adjusted), compared to 821.4 million euros in the previous year.

In the EMEA region, sales grew by 3.8% reaching 354.4 million euros (+6.6% currency adjusted), with stronger growth in Germany, Austria, and France. This development was supported by a good performance of the Teamsport category prior to the UEFA Euro 2016.

Sales in the Americas region remained flat at 288.1 million euros in reported terms, but grew by 5.4% on a currency adjusted basis. All major countries in the region continued to improve, while the Latin American region was strongly impacted by the weakness of its currencies, notably the Argentinian Peso, which impacted the sales development in Euro terms “severely”.

Sales in the Asia/Pacific region recorded the highest growth rate, improving by 9.8% (+11.2% currency adjusted) and totaling 209.4 million euros. China was the strongest performer in the quarter, followed by India.

Puma's Footwear segment grew for the seventh quarter in a row. Sales rose by 3.7% (+8.5% currency adjusted) totaling 392.0 million euros, with strong gains in the Sportstyle as well as the Running and Training categories, supported especially by the successful launches of women’s silhouettes.
With an increase of 3.7% (+7.0% currency adjusted) to 290.1 million euros, the performance in Apparel was also positive. Accessories saw a rise of 4.0% (+5.1% currency adjusted) totaling 169.8 million euros despite a continued weak Golf environment.

Puma's own and operated retail sales, including e-commerce, increased by 15.1% currency adjusted to 158.7 million euros representing 18.6% of total sales in the first quarter of 2016.