Puma expects a loss this year due to falling sales, US tariffs

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(Reuters) -German sportswear brand Puma expects to make a loss this year, it said on Thursday, slashing its financial outlook due to weaker sales and an expected hit to gross profit from the impact of U.S. tariffs.

Puma has been struggling to boost sales and profits, and the board named a new chief executive in April in a bid to turn performance around. Former Adidas sales chief Arthur Hoeld officially started on July 1.

Puma did not say how big the annual loss is likely to be. It had previously expected earnings before interest and tax of between 445 million euros and 525 million euros for the year.

Puma also now expects currency-adjusted sales for the year to decline by at least 10%, having previously forecast low- to mid-single-digit growth.

Puma, which in March announced job cuts and warned of uncertain U.S. consumer demand, said “both sector-wide and company-specific challenges” would continue to significantly impact its performance.

Puma’s second-quarter currency-adjusted sales of 1.94 billion euros ($2.28 billion) were weaker than analysts expected, with North America sales dropping 9.1% and Europe down 3.9%.

Despite mitigation efforts like supply chain optimization and pricing adjustments, Puma said U.S. tariffs on imports would likely reduce its 2025 gross profit by approximately 80 million euros.

Citi analyst Monique Pollard said she expects a “materially negative” market reaction on Friday, after Puma shares made some gains over the past month. The stock is down around 44% since the start of the year.

($1 = 0.8516 euros)

(Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Mrinmay Dey and Helen Reid; Editing by Alan Barona and Shri Navaratnam)