Adidas raises full-year guidance after strong Q2

Adidas "upgraded its sales and earnings guidance for the year" after posting "better-than-expected results for the second quarter as customers bought more products despite less promotional activity." The company "now expects currency-neutral revenue to increase at a high single-digit rate" this year, compared with a mid-to-high single-digit rate previously. It also expects roughly $1.09B in operating profit, "up from a previous forecast of around" $765.25B. The guidance boost comes after Adidas said revenue grew 9% in the second quarter to $6.36B, "citing preliminary figures." The company said its underlying gross margin in the quarter had "strongly improved," reflecting what it said were "better sales across categories, reduced discounting and lower sourcing costs." Operating profit in the quarter grew to $378M from $192M a year prior (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/16).