adidas has posted a 93 per cent drop in group net income for the second quarter of 2009. Profits fell to nine million euros (£7.6million), compared to 116million euros for the same period last year.
Group sales in Europe decreased eight per cent on a currency-neutral basis.
Despite the results, Herbert Hainer, adidas group CEO and chairman, was upbeat in his statement to the press. “The impacts of the economic downturn and repercussions on consumer spending are well documented and certainly continued to influence our performance in the second quarter,” he said.
“However, the good news is that we did not see any fundamental deterioration in our business since publishing our first-quarter results. Our financials for the first half of 2009 are exactly in line with the guidance we provided in May – if not a little better. As a result, I believe we have seen the bottom in our financial performance this year.
“Although there are still challenges ahead, I am confident that our results will improve as we go through the remainder of the year. We expect to generate significantly positive earnings per share in the second half, albeit below the record levels of the prior year. And we will make further progress on our inventories, setting our group up for a fresh start to an event-filled 2010.”
