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Adidas highlights tariff uncertainty

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Tariffs cause Adidas to hold back on guidance increase

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Adidas flags possible negative pressures later in year

(Adds details on tariff uncertainty, quotes by CEO Bjorn

Gulden)

By Helen Reid and Linda Pasquini

April 29 (Reuters) - German sportswear maker Adidas

on Tuesday said higher U.S. import tariffs and

broader uncertainty around trade were clouding its forecasts and

making it difficult to plan.

CEO Bjorn Gulden said the company would have hiked its

revenue and profit guidance for 2025 after strong first-quarter

results, but tariff uncertainty meant it decided to hold back.

Adidas expects the blanket increase in U.S. tariffs to

eventually cause price increases across all its products, but

said it was currently impossible to quantify those or to

establish the likely impact on U.S. consumer demand,

highlighting the paralysis caused by trade uncertainty.

Adidas has already reduced exports of China-made goods to

the U.S. to a minimum but is still "somewhat exposed" to much

higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, Gulden said, though it is

unclear how long those might remain at the current level.

"Given the uncertainty around the negotiations between the

U.S. and the different exporting countries, we do not know what

the final tariffs will be. Therefore, we cannot make any 'final'

decisions on what to do," Gulden said.

Unexpectedly high U.S. tariffs on Southeast Asian countries

such as Vietnam and Indonesia, announced at the start of this

month, but paused until July, blindsided sportswear brands,

which make most of their sneakers and clothing there.

As tariffs raise the cost of doing business, Adidas said it

would strive to ensure U.S. retail partners and consumers get

product "at the best possible price", adding it would try to

compensate for uncertainty in the U.S. by boosting its

performance in the rest of the world.

First-quarter sales rose 14% in Europe and 13% in Greater

China, and were up 26% in Latin America. Sales in North America

increased just 3%, which Adidas said was due to the phase-out of

its Yeezy sneaker line.

While sticking to its full-year guidance, Adidas said

uncertainties "could put negative pressure on this later in the

year".