By Helen Reid and Linda Pasquini
(Reuters) -German sportswear maker Adidas (OTC:ADDYY) held back on Tuesday from raising its 2025 financial forecasts despite strong first-quarter results, saying the uncertainty around U.S. import tariffs was making it difficult to make predictions and plan.
CEO Bjorn Gulden said that "in a normal world" the company would have hiked its revenue and profit guidance after last week’s quarterly results, but tariff uncertainty prevented it from doing so.
To mitigate the impact, Adidas front-loaded products to clear U.S. customs before tariffs that took effect on April 4 and April 9, and re-routed products made in China meant for the U.S. to other markets instead, Gulden said in a conference call with journalists.
Adidas has not raised prices in the U.S. yet, but ran scenarios to assess where price increases in the U.S. would be possible to offset the tariffs, Gulden said, adding that it would watch what rivals do and aim not to be a "first mover" in hiking prices.
The company also plans to compensate for uncertainty in the U.S. by boosting its performance in the rest of the world.
"You could ironically say that not being so dependent on the U.S. now is an advantage for us compared to maybe companies that are more American," he said, a remark pointing to its bigger U.S. rival Nike (NYSE:NKE).
Shares in the company were down 2% by 1255 GMT.
Adidas said the blanket 10% increase in U.S. tariffs will eventually cause price increases, but it is impossible to quantify those or the likely impact on U.S. consumer demand, highlighting the paralysis caused by trade uncertainty.
The company had already reduced exports of China-made goods to the U.S. to a minimum, but is still "somewhat exposed" to much higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, Gulden said, though it is unclear how long those might remain at the current level.
"Given the uncertainty around the negotiations between the U.S. and the different exporting countries, we do not know what the final tariffs will be. Therefore, we cannot make any ’final’ decisions on what to do," Gulden said.
High U.S. tariffs on Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia - announced on April 2, but paused until July - blindsided sportswear brands, which make most of their sneakers and clothing there.
"We hope and work on the assumption that these higher duties will not come back," Gulden said in the press conference.
First-quarter sales rose 14% in Europe and 13% in Greater China, where Gulden said Adidas is gaining market share from rivals. Sales in North America increased just 3%, which Adidas said was due to the phase-out of its Yeezy sneaker line.
While sticking to its full-year guidance, Adidas said the range of possible outcomes was wider now and uncertainty could put negative pressure on its results later in the year.
Adidas expects currency-neutral sales for 2025 to increase at a "high-single-digit" rate - between 7% and 9% - and operating profit to rise to between 1.7 billion euros and 1.8 billion euros ($1.94 billion-$2.05 billion).
Sales of running shoes and clothes improved in the first quarter, Adidas said, as it tries to better compete against newer brands like On and Hoka that have gained in popularity at the expense of Nike and Adidas.
Adidas-sponsored athletes won both the women’s and the men’s race at the London Marathon on Sunday, Gulden pointed out, helping boost the credentials of Adidas running shoes.
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