Adidas can make significant gains thanks to the World Cup

More than ten million balls were sold. In addition to the World Cup summer, sales were also boosted by extremely good business in China and North America. However, the run was slowed by subsidiary Reebok and stagnating business in the home region of Western Europe. In figures, Adidas achieved Group sales of 5.26 billion euros in the second quarter - an increase of 4.4 percent. Adjusted for currency effects, the increase was 10 percent.

The Franconian Group also increased its operating profit between April and the end of June. This improved by 17 percent to 592 million euros. Profit from continuing operations even increased by a good fifth to 418 million euros.

According to Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted, the World Cup was successful for the Group and led to double-digit growth in football sales. The Nike competitor had outfitted the most teams in the tournament, 12 out of 32, and therefore had a high presence. In addition to the German team, the World Cup sponsor also supplied the jerseys for Argentina, Spain and host Russia.

Such major sporting events play an important role as an advertising platform. After the semifinals, however, it was over for the last Adidas team with Belgium. The final went to Nike with France and Croatia. It is true that the Dax company had increased its marketing budget because of the World Cup. But the mix of fewer discounts, new products at higher prices and good cost control more than compensated for this. At 27 percent, currency-adjusted sales were up again, especially in China. However, North America (16 percent) and Latin America (15 percent) also increased. In contrast, sales in the home region of Western Europe stagnated.

Rebook does not get up to speed

The company's subsidiary Reebok reported a 3 percent drop in sales after adjusting for foreign exchange. The fitness brand has been undergoing restructuring for years, precisely because it was not doing well in the USA. Last year, the Group closed a number of unprofitable Reebok stores there, streamlined the organization and revised the products. Fashion icon Victoria Beckham was brought on board for the design. Rorsted reiterated that Adidas has no plans to divest the brand. The goal is still to make it profitable by 2020, he said. Reebok has belonged to Adidas since 2006. Adidas is sticking to its forecast for the current year. The world's second-largest sporting goods manufacturer sees further growth opportunities, particularly in North America and Asia. Currency-adjusted sales are expected to increase by around 10 percent in 2018 and profit from continuing operations by 13 to 17 percent. In the best-case scenario, this could result in a profit of just under 1.7 billion euros on the balance sheet at the end of the year.

Photos: Adidas; Zalando.com