By Ozan Ergenay
Oct 30 (Reuters) - German sportswear maker Puma narrowed the guidance range for its 2026 operating loss on Friday, slightly weakening the midpoint amid muted consumer demand even as its third-quarter sales beat market expectations.
Puma, which is attempting to reboot its brand appeal to better compete with larger rivals Adidas and Nike, has been grappling with weaker demand and elevated inventory levels at sporting goods retailers through which it generates most of its sales.
The company
now expects an operating loss of €80 million to €130 million ($89 million to $145 million) in 2026, compared with a previous forecast for a loss of €50 million to €150 million.
Puma's third-quarter operating loss was €11.4 million, against a profit of €16.2 million a year ago and analysts' average forecast for a €10 million loss.
The figure includes a positive effect of €29.8 million from US tariff refunds and one-off costs of €11.7 million related to the company's cost efficiency programme, it said.
"Our third-quarter performance was in line with expectations as we continued to move Puma through this transition year while laying the foundation for future growth," CEO Arthur Hoeld said in a statement.
Jefferies analysts said the results continued to point to a "complex reboot" of Puma's consumer appeal as it seeks to revive growth. The company's shares rose 6% in early trading.
Puma is investing in advertising to boost its brand and pursuing efforts to improve its credentials as a performance sportswear maker, particularly in running, where it has worked on its shoe technology.
Its quarterly sales fell 5% to €1.77 billion, but slightly beat market expectations of €1.75 billion. Inventories fell 24.3% to €1.6 billion on the back of lower purchasing volumes.
"Perhaps the one encouraging feature today is a reduction in inventory levels to already below the target expected by the end of this year," Jefferies said in the note to investors.
($1 = 0.8957 euros)
(Reporting by Ozan Ergenay in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
