Adidas profit surges five-fold as it moves past Kanye West split

Adidas' operating profit soars to €1.34 billion as revenue climbs 12%. Photo / Getty Images

Adidas’ operating profit jumped five-fold last year as the German sportswear company continues to move past the turmoil from its split from musician and entrepreneur Kanye West.

Its full-year operating profit increased to €1.34 billion (NZ$2.4b), up from €268 million (NZ$492m) in 2023, according to preliminary results. Meanwhile, sales rose 11% on the previous year, amounting to €23.68b (NZ$43.55b).

In the fourth quarter alone, the company’s currency-neutral revenues increased by 19%, or 24% in euro terms, reaching €5.97b (NZ$10.9m). This growth was even higher, at 18%, when excluding Yeezy sales.

Furthermore, it achieved an operating profit of €57m (NZ$104m) in the quarter, compared to an operating loss of €377m (NZ$693m) in the same period the previous year.

Yeezy was the fashion collaboration between West and Adidas that sold sneakers, shirts, jackets, socks, underwear and more. In October 2022, Adidas announced the pair had split from their collaboration with immediate effect after the rapper made antisemitic remarks on social media.

Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden attributed much of its strong performance to growing interest in its products across lifestyle and performance categories.

“I am very pleased with the way the fourth quarter and the full year developed for us at Adidas, 19% currency-neutral growth (+24% reported) in a 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 in our products is growing across both lifestyle and performance. Strong growth across all regions and divisions proves the good job our teams are doing across regions and functions.”

Looking ahead, Gulden was confident in Adidas’ prospects and its goal to increase market share in all markets but acknowledged the presence of macroeconomic uncertainty.

“There is a lot of macroeconomic uncertainty right now, but we clearly have the goal to again grow double-digit with the Adidas brand and use that growth to continue to improve our operating profit and make further progress towards our 10% margin target.”

The company will provide its final financial results for 2024 and issue financial guidance for 2025 on March 5.