adidas announced last night that it had raised its annual sales forecast in the wake of a much better-than-expected first quarter, sending its share price up 7% on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

The German sports equipment manufacturer now expects sales growth of between 5% and 10% this year, excluding currency effects, compared with a previous forecast of around 5%.

The brand with the three stripes added that it was now anticipating annual operating profit of around 700 million euros, compared with a previous estimate of around 500 million euros.

In the first quarter, sales at constant exchange rates rose by 8%, whereas the consensus was for growth of only 4.5%.

At the same time, its gross margin improved by 6.4 points to 51.2%, while its operating income reached 336 million euros, compared with a profit of 60 million a year earlier.

"This performance is impressive in view of the current difficult market context and a product offering that is not yet fully optimized", emphasize Stifel analysts.

The arrival of the autumn/winter 2024/2025 collection should further accentuate this acceleration", adds the research department.

With a gain of 7%, the number two in its sector behind American Nike was by far the biggest riser on the DAX index in Frankfurt and on the pan-European STOXX 600 index on Wednesday morning.

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