FRANKFURT (Reuters) -German sportswear maker Puma reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter results on Wednesday as high demand from both retailers and consumers more than offset the impact of the war in Ukraine and supply chain bottlenecks.

The company reported that its earnings before interest (EBIT) increased 27% to $196 million, or $808.62 million in the first 3 months of 2022. That compares with analysts’ average EBIT projection of 181.5 million.

Bjorn Gulden, Chief Executive, stated that this was proof of our marketing investments in innovation. He also said that Puma had sold more products across all categories with the highest growth in football, basketball, and running apparel.

We would expect to raise our outlook for full-year based on such strong quarters. Gulden stated that, despite the uncertainty around the globe, they have decided to keep their initial outlook for the year.”

Puma’s focus will be on increasing market share and long-term growth rather than optimizing its short-term profits. The CEO explained that this will cause an increase in operating costs and decrease gross margin.

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