March 12 (Reuters) - Puma's shares sank 22% to their lowest in nine years in early trading on Wednesday, a day after the German sportswear group issued disappointing forecasts for the first quarter and for 2025 amid weak demand in its U.S. and Chinese markets.
Weak quarterly sales and annual profit announced in January have raised concerns over Puma's ability to compete with bigger rivals Adidas and Nike while fending off newer, fast-growing brands such as On Running and Hoka.
Puma said late on Tuesday that its annual currency-adjusted sales would grow in a low- to mid-single-digit percentage rate, compared with 4.4% growth to 8.82 billion euros ($9.62 billion) in 2024.
It had previously expected 2025 growth to be stronger than in 2024.
"While expectations have lowered recently, we still think this guidance is below the most conservative estimates and raises more questions," analysts at Barclays wrote in a note to investors.
The group forecast adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 520 million to 600 million euros for 2025, before a one-time charge of up to 75 million related to its cost-cutting programme.
"Overall, investors were looking for a weaker guidance with potentially a flat to small decline in EBIT year-on-year," said analyst Adam Cochrane at Deutsche Bank.
Puma shares slumped 23% to 21.90 euros in morning trading, a level not seen since November 2016.
Quarterly currency-adjusted sales were forecast to grow in a low single-digit percentage, below last year's level, with "significantly" lower operating earnings for the same period.
($1 = 0.9166 euros)
Reporting by Linda Pasquini in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi and Joe Bavier
Source: Reuters