FRANKFURT: German sportswear giant Puma said Wednesday that earnings plummeted in the third quarter, tripped up by heavy restructuring charges.
Puma said in a statement its booked net profit of 12.2 million euros ($15.8 million) in the period from July to September, a drop of 85.1 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Pre-tax profit plunged 81.7 percent to 21.3 million euros, despite a 6.0-percent increase in sales to 892.2 million euros.
"The implementation of the restructuring programme and cost-cutting measures weighed on third-quarter earnings," the statement said.
Nevertheless, "despite the weak business environment in Europe, Puma was able to notch up modest sales growth in the third quarter," said chief executive Franz Koch.
"We've now embarked on the measures needed to meet the challenges we currently face in Europe," he said. The restructuring and cost-cutting programme would form a "solid basis for sustained growth" in the future.
Looking ahead to the full year, however, one-off costs would push profits "well below the year-earlier levels," Puma cautioned.
And the group was sticking to its forecast for a "mid single-digit increase in sales".
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