The German athletic apparel company Puma announced Thursday that its first quarter operating earnings exceeded Wall Street forecasts, driven by successful inventory reduction efforts and decreased operational costs.
The company’s earnings before interest and taxes climbed 19.6% to reach 51.9 million euros ($60.53 million), surpassing the 43 million euro estimate from analysts surveyed by the company.
Stock levels dropped 8.6% to 1.9 billion euros compared to 2.1 billion euros during the same three-month period last year, according to company reports. This reduction resulted from decreased purchasing volumes as the company anticipates lower sales figures for the current year.
“We have managed to reduce our inventory levels faster than planned, streamlined our product portfolio and addressed operational inefficiencies,” CEO Arthur Hoeld said in a statement.
The sportswear manufacturer also revealed that Mark Langer will assume the role of chief financial officer starting Friday. This follows a mutual decision between the company and current CFO Markus Neubrand for him to resign from his position on Thursday.
