Adidas AG, the German athletic apparel manufacturer, reported on Wednesday that its net loss attributable to shareholders for the fourth quarter had dropped to 379 million euros from 512 million euros the previous year.
The loss per share also decreased, falling to 2.13 euros from 2.87 euros per share in the previous year. In terms of continuing operations, the net loss was 401 million euros or 2.36 euros per share, a decrease from last year's total of 482 million euros or 2.69 euros per share.
Moreover, the operating loss for Adidas recorded a significant drop, standing at 377 million euros, compared to 724 million euros in the previous year. This reduction resulted in a lower operating margin of 7.8 percent, as opposed to a negative operating margin of 13.9 percent from a year earlier.
However, revenues witnessed an 8 percent decrease, falling to 4.81 billion euros from 5.21 billion euros the previous year. Even after adjusting for currency effects, revenues in the fourth quarter declined slightly by 2 percent.
Also, Adidas' Executive and Supervisory Boards proposed to maintain the dividend of 0.70 euros per share for each dividend-eligible share, which will be discussed at the Annual General Meeting on May 16.
Looking to the future, Adidas anticipates operating profits to reach around 500 million euros in 2024, a sharp rise from 268 million euros projected for 2023.
Adidas also expects its sales, adjusted for currency effects, to grow at a medium single-digit rate in 2024. This forecast assumes that Adidas will sell its remaining Yeezy inventory without making a profit. If the Yeezy revenues for both years are excluded, this sales forecast indicates an adjusted for currency high-single-digit growth in Adidas's core business.
The company revealed an initial growth in the first quarter and anticipates this growth to gain momentum in the second half of the year.
