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Non-Tech : Just For Feet (FEET) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Don Dorsey who wrote (529)	3/9/1998 5:06:00 PM
From: Don Dorsey	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 750

This report from Adidas gives a very favorable forcast for the first half of '98, primarily on the strength of US sales. FEET up 44% since Jan 1. Keep it going. By Melanie Cheary NUREMBERG, Germany, March 5 (Reuters) - German sportswear group Adidas-Salomon AG on Thursday declared record sales of 6.7 billion marks ($3.7 billion) for 1997 and its first-ever double digit earnings per share. The company also said it expected further sales and earnings growth this year. ''We (are) relatively confident that we can achieve a strong level of growth,'' chief financial officer Dean Hawkins told a news conference. The 1997 results did not include French group Salomon S.A., now being integrated into the Adidas group, which was taking the Adidas-Salomon name. Adidas said that sales, which grew 42 percent in line with analysts' expectations, were driven by dynamic growth in the United States of 66 percent to 1.7 billion marks with an improvement in profit margins there of about seven percentage points. ''Our star region for 1997 was America. There was a strong sales growth but it was also helped by favourable exchange rates,'' managing director Michel Perraudin said. Chief executive Robert Louis-Dreyfus said he expected further U.S sales growth and hoped to swell the group's market share from its current six percent. Competitor sports brand Nike holds around 50 percent of the U.S. market. ''Adidas has gained a foothold in the U.S. market in sports that are vital to our success -- baseball, basketball and football,'' Dreyfus said. Adidas said that in 1997, its group net profit rose 48 percent to 465 million marks. The group plans to raise its dividend to 1.65 marks per share from 1.10 marks. Earnings per share rose to 10.25 marks from 6.93 marks, and group sales excluding Salomon rose 42.2 percent to 6.7 billion marks. Analysts polled by Reuters forecast a sales range of between 6.48 billion marks and 6.87 billion with the consensus at 6.676 billion marks compared with 4.7 billion in 1996. Analysts remained upbeat on their Adidas outlook and said results impressed in some areas and were slightly softer in others but overall met expectations. ''In terms of sales they were above our forecasts. Generally, the pre-tax level was below but then the lower taxes countered this and net profit and overall growth was pretty much in line with our forecasts,'' said Ingbert Faust at UBS. Adidas shares were at 281.90 marks in electronic trading, down just 10 pfennigs after recouping some earlier profit-taking losses and outperforming the overall market. Sales in the U.S basketball sector, which Adidas has previously said is the key to that region's market growth, slid 36 percent to an all-time low, despite Adidas signing up high-profile Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant. Nevertheless, Dreyfus said basketball sales would enjoy strong growth in 1998 because ''we have a better product.'' Asked whether the group should not improve its KB8II basketball shoe, Dreyfus said the product was revised every quarter. Adidas, which recently acquired Salomon, said it would postpone its U.S. stock market listing which had been planned for 1998, because the integration of the French group was a priority. ''The dominant focus for 1998 will be the integration of the Salomon group...However, it is anticipated that the implementation of combined activities will not yield any positive bottom line impact for the enlarged group before 1999,'' Adidas said in its annual results review. ''Listing of the Adidas share on the U.S. stock exchange originally planned for 1998 has been postponed for the time being due to priority of the integration of Salomon.'' it said. Despite significantly dampened expectations for some Asian markets, Adidas said that the high level of orders on hand and continued strong growth would lead to gains in earnings, both before tax and after tax, even with a higher tax rate. At end-1997, Adidas total orders on hand for the first half of 1998 were up 56 percent compared with the end-1996 level. It said north America was leading the order volume with a growth of 101 percent in 1997. Adidas said the 1997 order backlog was an indication of sales development to be expected in the first half of 1998. Hawkins said another indication of increased 1998 sales was the fact the order backlog was growing faster than the inventory. ''This reflects the strength of our business for the next six months,'' Hawkins said.