March 11 (Reuters) -

German sportswear Puma said on Tuesday it expects

currency-adjusted sales growth to be in a low single-digit

percentage, below the previous year's level, due to a soft

performance in the U.S. and China.

The company expects to incur one-time costs of up to 75

million euros ($81.96 million) in 2025 due to its cost

efficiency programme.

Puma expects adjusted earnings before interest and taxes

(EBIT) for the year to be in the range of 520 million euros to

600 million euros, while it sees EBIT growth to range between

445 million euros and 525 million euros for the same period,

including the one-time cost of its efficiency initiative.

Puma's weak quarterly sales and annual profit announced

in January have fed into concerns about its ability to compete

with bigger rivals Adidas and Nike ( NKE ) and fend

off newer, fast-growing brands such as On Running and

Hoka.

The sportswear brand launched a cost-cutting programme

earlier this year after its annual net profit fell below the

prior year's level, missing expectations.

($1 = 0.9151 euros)