German sportswear brand Adidas on Thursday bumped up its earnings outlook for the year, as it expects the Olympics and the upcoming European and American football seasons to boost its sales.

The Bavaria-based group recorded a net profit of 397 million euros ($470 million) between April and June, as pandemic restrictions eased and the football European Championships got going.

Its bottom-line was decisively up on the same period last year, when temporary shop closures in much of the world because of the Covid-19 pandemic left the group with a 295 million euro loss.

Adidas now expects sales for the year to increase by 20 percent across the board and for net profit to touch between 1.4 and 1.5 billion euros.

The optimistic prediction was made despite "Covid-19-related lockdowns, industry-wide supply chain challenges and the geo-political situation", Adidas said in a statement.

"Driven by the strength of our brand and better-than-expected demand for our products, we saw an acceleration in our top- and bottom-line," Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted said in a press release.

Adidas recorded a net profit of 397 million euros ($470 million) between April and June, as pandemic restrictions eased and the football European Championships got going.
Adidas recorded a net profit of 397 million euros ($470 million) between April and June, as pandemic restrictions eased and the football European Championships got going. AFP / Christof STACHE

"This momentum gives us all the confidence to increase our full-year outlook despite the external challenges that our industry continues to face."

The group saw improved sales in all regions except China, which dipped by 16 percent compared with the same three-month period, although the company said the drop reflected a strong recovery in the second quarter last year.

By contrast, in Europe and North America, sales were up year on year by 99 percent and 87 percent, respectively.

Adidas said it expected an acceleration in sales in the second half of the year "fuelled by an array of innovative product releases" and major sports events like the current Olympic games in Tokyo and the start of the American football and European club football seasons.

The company will continue to carry the costs from its intended sale of the Reebok, announced in February as part of a five-year turnaround plan, with 200 million euros set aside for the cost of divesting from the brand.

Despite the improved guidance, Adidas's share price dropped in early trading at the Frankfurt stock exchange.

Tokyo Olympics Coronavirus Tokyo Olympics Tokyo Olympics