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Puma Q3 sales up 5% to 2.31 bln euros

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EMEA sales grow just 0.8%

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Weaker foreign currencies hurt sales in euro terms

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Puma CEO says demand for 'Speedcat' shoe is growing

(Adds CEO quotes in paragraphs 2, 3, 9 and 10, updates share

price)

By Linda Pasquini and Helen Reid

Nov 6 (Reuters) - German sportswear maker Puma's

third-quarter sales missed expectations on Wednesday

due to sluggish demand and as weaker currencies in markets like

Mexico, Argentina and Japan weighed on its revenue in euro

terms.

Puma CEO Arne Freundt promised a better end to the year,

though, saying that China's Golden Week holiday in October and

the lead-up to Singles' Day on Nov. 11 showed "very encouraging"

demand.

"Talking to the retailers both in Europe and the U.S., I

think we are quite confident about the demand going into the

important shopping season," he added.

The company was well positioned to react swiftly to tariff

increases, Freundt said, referring to the potential impact of

Donald Trump's plans to impose tariffs on some imports to the

U.S.

Third-quarter sales grew 5% in currency-adjusted terms to

2.31 billion euros ($2.48 billion), broadly stable from a year

earlier but short of the 2.36 billion euros expected by

analysts, according to LSEG data.

Puma shares fell 4% in early trading.

Puma sold more soccer and running shoes in the quarter,

driving footwear revenues up 9.3%. But sales in its biggest

market, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), were up by only

0.8%, with Freundt blaming weak consumer sentiment in the Middle

East.

Sales in the Americas grew 11.4%, while sales in

Asia-Pacific were up 3%.

Puma this year launched new global marketing campaigns

in an effort to better compete with bigger rivals like Adidas

and Nike ( NKE ) and the brand is relaunching the

Formula 1-inspired "Speedcat" shoe first released in 1999,

aiming for it to become a key product franchise.

Freundt said demand for the low-top, thin-soled sneakers

is building as the brand seeks to get them on the feet of

influencers and models.

"I'm very confident to say we are leading the

low-profile trend," he told reporters on a call.

Puma aims to sell between 4 and 6 million pairs of

Speedcat shoes in 2025, he said.

Puma confirmed its full-year outlook for currency-adjusted

revenue in mid single-digit percentage, and core profit (EBIT)

of between 620 million to 670 million euros, saying its order

book from retailers was strong for the remainder of the year.