Athletic brand Puma said today that it saw a rebound in second-quarter sales, led in part by strong demand in North America, and the company boosted its full-year financial outlook.
The company said in a statement that Q2 sales jumped 96% to 1.6 million euros (currency adjusted), or $1.89 million, which compares with 831 million euros a year ago.
Also in the quarter, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) totaled 109 million euros, or $128.7 million, compared with a loss of 115 million euros a year ago, Puma reported.
The company cited brand momentum and growth across all regions.
As a result, Puma said it now expects annual sales to rise by at least 20% on a currency-neutral basis, up from a prior forecast for an increase in the mid-teens.
Full-year earnings are expected to “improve significantly,” the company said, with EBIT forecast between 400 and 500 million euros, or $472.2 million to $590.2 million at current exchange.
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In addition to sales strength in North America, the company also cited strong sell-throughs of new product launches. Puma recently teamed up with Haribo for graphic T-shirts and shorts designed with Puma and Haribo co-branding and including reimagined classic Puma Suedes.
In June, Puma joined forces with White Castle to celebrate the restaurant’s 100th birthday. They created a capsule of apparel, including hoodies, T-shirts and shorts, covered in the fast-food chain’s signature white, blue and yellow color palette.
These followed the release of the brand’s new Fierce 2 model in early June.
Puma, meanwhile, tempered expectations somewhat saying that its new outlook is subject to continued manufacturing operations in Vietnam and China and no big issues related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Puma will release its full earnings report on July 29.
