Adidas’ profit soars by €1bn for 2024
German sportswear brand Adidas has reported a 12% sales jump for 2024 to €23.7 billion and a €1 billion rise in profit to €1.3 billion, which was better than expected and above its guidance published in October.
Footwear led the company’s growth with an increase of 17%, driven by strong double-digit growth in Originals, Football and Training. During the year, the company broadened its footwear offering across a wider range of price points, leading to double-digit growth in Sportswear.
Apparel revenues grew 6%. Originals benefited from the increasing popularity of the Three Stripes through offerings such as Adicolor and Firebird. In addition, as part of its strategy to create a bigger lifestyle business in Football, adidas successfully launched retro-inspired third jerseys featuring the iconic Trefoil logo.
Strong growth in the Football kit business was driven by jersey sales related to the UEFA EURO 2024 and the CONMEBOL Copa América, with adidas-sponsored Spain and Argentina winning the tournaments.
In Running, the company continued to generate strong double-digit growth with its Adizero running shoe family.
Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulde said: “Going from single-digit growth at the beginning of the year to 19% currency-neutral growth in a fourth quarter, that in general was difficult for the trade, underlines the strong momentum we currently see for our brand and our products. We clearly see that consumers’ and retailers’ interest is growing across both Lifestyle and Performance and also across all markets. This has only been possible because of our attitude of going into the market with what is relevant for the local consumer.”
He predicted a similar growth trajectory this year. “There is a lot of macroeconomic uncertainty right now, but with products that we think are on trend and the attitude of being agile and more local, I cannot see why we should not be successful. That’s why I think we will again grow at least 10% with the adidas brand in 2025 and use this growth to continue to improve our operating profit to between €1.7 billion and €1.8 billion.”
