HERZOGENAURACH Germany (Reuters) - German sportswear firm Puma (DE:PUMG) reported its first increase in footwear sales in almost two years and strong sales of its Arsenal jerseys as it increased its sales target for 2014, while paring its margin forecast.
Puma, which has slipped further behind sportswear giants Nike (N:NKE) and Adidas (DE:ADSGn) in recent years, said third-quarter net profit fell 45 percent to 29 million euros (22.69 million British pounds) due to currency effects and higher marketing spending, slightly shy of average analyst forecasts for 30 million.
Puma is splashing out to restore its reputation for sports performance after a shift into fashion hurt its sneaker sales. It ousted Nike as kit supplier to Arsenal this season and launched its biggest marketing drive yet in August with athletes like sprinter Usain Bolt and soccer star Mario Balotelli.
Quarterly sales rose 3.7 percent to 843 million euros, an increase of 6.4 percent after stripping out currency effects.
It said footwear sales, which account for 44 percent of the total, grew a currency-adjusted 2 percent - the first rise in seven quarters - helped by the popularity of its evoSPEED soccer boot, worn by several top players at the World Cup in Brazil.
Strong demand for Arsenal jerseys helped apparel sales rise by a currency-adjusted 11.4 percent.
Puma said it now expected a low single-digit increase in 2014 currency adjusted net sales, compared with a previous forecast for flat sales, while it sees a stable gross profit margin, compared to a previous target for a slight increase.
Puma shares jumped on Monday on talk that French luxury group Kering (PA:PRTP) has found a buyer for its 86 percent holding in the company. On Friday, the stock edged up 0.1 percent in pre-market trade.
($1 = 0.8072 euro)
(Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Maria Sheahan)