Adidas Reduces Inventory Levels More Than Planned 

Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Third-Place Playoff - Croatia v Morocco - Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar - December 17, 2022 General view of FIFA president Gianni Infantino's Adidas shoes during the medal ceremony. (Reuters)
Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Third-Place Playoff - Croatia v Morocco - Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar - December 17, 2022 General view of FIFA president Gianni Infantino's Adidas shoes during the medal ceremony. (Reuters)
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Adidas Reduces Inventory Levels More Than Planned 

Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Third-Place Playoff - Croatia v Morocco - Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar - December 17, 2022 General view of FIFA president Gianni Infantino's Adidas shoes during the medal ceremony. (Reuters)
Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Third-Place Playoff - Croatia v Morocco - Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar - December 17, 2022 General view of FIFA president Gianni Infantino's Adidas shoes during the medal ceremony. (Reuters)

Adidas said on Wednesday that inventory levels continued to decline in the third quarter as the German firm curbed its selling into wholesalers, while lower costs helped increase its gross margin.

Inventory levels were down 23% on the year to 4.85 billion euros ($5.18 billion), a little more than expected, Adidas said.

Adidas last month lifted its full-year guidance, partly thanks to the positive impact of the release of Yeezy shoes during the second and third quarter.

Adidas' gross margin for the quarter was up 0.2 percentage points, to 49.3%, thanks to reduced freight costs and less discounting.



Under Armour Raises Annual Profit Forecast on Cost-savings Plan

FILE PHOTO: Products are displayed in an Under Armour store in New York City, US, November 4, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Products are displayed in an Under Armour store in New York City, US, November 4, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
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Under Armour Raises Annual Profit Forecast on Cost-savings Plan

FILE PHOTO: Products are displayed in an Under Armour store in New York City, US, November 4, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Products are displayed in an Under Armour store in New York City, US, November 4, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

Sportswear maker Under Armour raised its annual profit forecast on Thursday, betting on its cost-saving strategy and efforts to sell more clothing and shoes at full price.

Shares of the company rose 6.3% in premarket trading.

Following several quarters of poor results, Under Armour founder Kevin Plank returned as CEO to reset the business and has been reducing headcount and cutting down on inventory of some products.

The company is also aiming to cut back on promotions and sell apparel and footwear at full prices.
It now expects annual adjusted per-share profit of between 24 cents and 27 cents, compared with its prior forecast of 19 cents to 21 cents.