German sporting goods firm Adidas has increased its income by 37 per cent rise in the first quarter to beat analysts' expectations.
The company said net income was €144 million. Sales climbed 47 per cent to €2.459 billion, also above the average forecast of €2.37 billion.
For 2006, Adidas said earnings would grow by a double-digit percentage rate. Sales would rise by a strong double-digit percentage rate.
But sales at its newly acquired Reebok unit would fall by a mid-single-digit rate in the February-December period compared with a year earlier, it said.
Reebok's order backlog fell 14 per cent at the end of the first quarter on a currency-neutral basis.
The backlog at the key Adidas brand was up 12 per cent at the end of the first quarter on a currency-neutral basis.