Adidas predicts profit rebound after pandemic hit

BERLIN (Reuters) – German sportswear firm Adidas said on Thursday it expects a rebound in profits in the third quarter after it plunged to a big loss in the second quarter when the majority of its stores were closed due to coronavirus lockdowns.

Adidas reported a second-quarter operating loss of 333 million euros ($395.60 million), worse than the 290 million expected by analysts on sales down 35% to 3.579 billion euros, ahead of analyst consensus for 3.3 billion.

The company said its sales were flat for the quarter in China, where it saw double-digit growth in May and June. Its outlook for the third quarter implies an improvement in operating profit of around 1 billion euros from the second.

(Reporting by Emma Thomasson, editing by Thomas Escritt)