Adidas profit plummets 78% in pandemic-hit 2020

FRANKFURT AM MAIN: German sportswear group Adidas said Wednesday its profits dived 78% in 2020 after being pummelled by the coronavirus pandemic, but forecast a sharp rebound ahead.

The Bavaria-based company, which is trying to sell its struggling US subsidiary Reebok, reported its net profits fell to 432 million euros ($513 million) last year from 1.97 billion euros in 2019.

It also saw sales drop 16% to 19.8 billion euros.

But Adidas sought to highlight that sales recovered in most of the world in the fourth quarter of a year in which many of its stores were forced to shut due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The exception was Europe, where around half of the company’s stores were still closed by the end of the year, Adidas…