November 11, 2021: -German sportswear company Adidas pared full-year sales and profit forecasts on Wednesday, citing sourcing disruptions and a challenging market environment in China after third-quarter results missed analyst expectations.

Adidas reported third-quarter sales up a currency-neutral 3% year on year at 5.752 billion euros. In comparison, operating profit fell 8.5% to 672 million euros, missing average analyst forecasts for 5.83 billion and 682 million euros.

Adidas shares were down 4.7% in the early Frankfurt trade.

CEO Kasper Rorsted told CNBC on Wednesday that there was a divergence between the market environment in Asia and Europe and the Americas, where sales continued to grow.

“Double-digit growth in the western part of the world and a double-digit decline in Asia, predominantly due to the corona impact, which is still lasting, and then also political tensions,” he said.

“So, we should expect that until we have a release of corona (restrictions) in Asia, we are not going to have a full recovery. However, where we see a somewhat normalized setup, we are experiencing double digits and trading as a company above the (2019) level.”

Factories in Vietnam, a significant supplier to the footwear industry, closed for up to 11 weeks because of COVID-19 outbreaks. Adidas rival Puma has warned that supply bottlenecks would mean a shortage of its products well into 2022.

Adidas said the market in Greater China, COVID-19 lockdowns in the Asia-Pacific region, and supply chain disruptions had cut revenue growth by nearly 600 million euros in the third quarter.

Sales fell 15% in Greater China due to renewed pandemic restrictions and the “geopolitical” situation, the company said.

Western brands, including Adidas, have faced a consumer boycott in China since March from the past statements saying they would not source cotton from Xinjiang after reports of human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims. Beijing denies any abuses.

Adidas said it still expects 2021 currency-neutral revenue to rise by up to 20%, but it now expects growth to come in lower, without being much specific.

It also expects to reach the lower end of previous forecasts for a 2021 operating margin amid 9.5% and 10% and net income from continuing operations of 1.4 billion to 1.5 billion euros.