Puma has said it is “well on track” to achieve its full-year guidance as sales increased in the third quarter, but its profit narrowed.

The German sportswear giant generated revenue of 2.3 billion euros in Q3, an increase of 6 percent on a constant-currency basis, driven by its biggest market, EMEA, where sales rose 9.9 percent to 1 billion euros.

Meanwhile, constant-currency sales increased 4.6 percent to 435.9 million euros in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region thanks to the continued recovery of the Greater China market following the end of the pandemic, combined with ongoing growth in Japan and India.

Constant-currency sales in the Americas rose by a smaller 2.5 percent to 854.6 million euros, which Puma said was due to a sales decline in North America linked to macroeconomic headwinds and the market’s relative dependency on the off-price wholesale business.

Breaking it down by channel, constant-currency sales growth was smallest at Puma’s wholesale business, up 3.1 percent in Q3 to 1.8 billion euros.

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales rose 17.4 percent, while sales through the company’s owned and operated retail stores jumped 21.8 percent, and e-commerce sales increased 8.3 percent.

Q3 earnings narrow at Puma

Despite the overall sales growth, net profit at Puma narrowed to 132 million euros in the quarter from 146 million euros a year earlier.

Based on its Q3 results, Puma said it is “well on track” to achieve its full-year guidance.

It expects constant-currency sales growth to be in the high single-digit percentage range for FY23, while it expects EBIT in the range of 590 million euros and 670 million euros.

Commenting on the Q3 results, Puma CEO Arne Freundt said: “While the market continues to experience significant macroeconomic headwinds and 2023 remains a transition year, we outgrew the market with a currency adjusted sales growth of 6 percent and delivered an EBIT of 236 million euros - both fully in line with expectations.

“We once again demonstrated our sustained brand momentum and gained market share.”