- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
China troubles mar Adidas's first-quarter result
German sportswear giant Adidas reported a drop in its profits in the first quarter on Friday, as widespread coronavirus lockdowns hurt business in key market China.
The group's net profit from its continuing operations fell to 310 million euros ($326 million), from 502 million euros in the same quarter last year.
The fall came off the back of a three-percent drop in sales, felt particularly strongly in Asia, the group said in a statement.
First-quarter revenues in China fell by 35 percent and 16 percent in the rest of the Asia-Pacific region, as a series of coronavirus-related lockdowns limited demand for the company's products.
Drastic health restrictions added to a "challenging market environment" for Adidas in China, the group said.
Adidas has been facing a consumer boycott in China over its refusal to use cotton from Xinjiang in response to accusations of forced Uyghur labour.
The German sports outfitter "will return to growth" in the Asia-Pacific market region, Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted said in the statement.
The group's difficulties in China were however due "to continue", he added.
Adidas expected revenues in the key market to decline by a figure in "lower double-digit territory", chief financial officer Harm Ohlmeyer said at a press conference.
- 'Supply constraints' -
The struggles in Asia contrasted with Adidas's stronger revenue growth elsewhere, with sales in North America up 12.8 percent.
"Supply constraints as a result of last year’s lockdowns in Vietnam", where the group has production facilities, suppressed as much as 400 million euros in revenues in the first quarter, Adidas said.
Markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa were "most impacted by the supply shortages", the group said, limiting sales growth in the region to 9.1 percent.
The kit-maker also had to fight a "significant increase" in costs for the transport and sourcing of its materials, which put pressure on its profit margins.
Adidas maintained its guidance for 2022, but said the "severe impact" of coronavirus lockdowns in China would keep revenue growth towards the lower end of its 11-to-13-percent range.
The same went for the group's net income for the year, now expected to sit closer to 1.8 billion euros than 1.9 billion euros.
Shares in Adidas were down by over six percent at 1:30 p.m. (1130 GMT) trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
P.Mira--PC