Adidas sees profits doubling as Kanye crisis fades
STORY: Adidas is getting over its breakup with Kanye West.
The German sportswear giant parted ways with the rapper after he made antisemitic comments.
That cost it big sales of his Yeezy line of sneakers.
But on Wednesday the firm said its earnings were on the mend.
It forecast a near-doubling in operating profit to over $542 million this year.
The firm also gave an unscheduled preliminary announcement of last year’s numbers.
Operating profit in 2023 hit about $290 million.
That was less than half the previous year’s number, but way better than the $108 million loss previously forecast.
New CEO Bjorn Gulden - in the job since the start of last year - has been trying to drive a turnaround.
The breakup with Kanye had left Adidas with a pile of unsellable shoes worth around $1.3 billion.
However, fourth quarter earnings were helped by a decision not to totally write-off the stock.
Instead, Adidas will sell the sneakers at cost, recouping it hundreds of millions of dollars.
