:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/KDB5JC3TV7FJB3XSCOWJH3YJWM.jpg "Adidas to cut dividend after split with Kanye West 1")
BERLIN, March 8 (Reuters) – Adidas announced plans on Wednesday to cut its 2022 dividend to 0.70 euros ($0.7374) per share, after a year marked by losses linked to its spin-off with the rapper and fashion designer Kanye West.
The German sportswear maker said its management and supervisory boards would recommend the dividend at the May 11 annual general meeting. The previous year’s dividend was 3.30 euros.
Adidas said currency-neutral revenue fell 1% in the fourth quarter of 2022, taking into account a loss of 600 million euros since the end of its partnership with the celebrity, which gave birth to the line then. lucrative Yeezy sneakers.
By 2023, the company forecast near-break-even underlying operating profit, factoring in lost sales if it didn’t sell Yeezy stock.
“2023 will be a transition year to lay the foundation for 2024 and 2025,” CEO Bjorn Gulden said in a statement. “We need to reduce inventory and reduce discounts. Then we can start building a profitable business again in 2024.”
(Reporting by Alexander Huebner, Writing by Friederike Heine, Editing by Paul Carrel, Editing in Spanish by Tomás Cobos)