PUMA AG announces its consolidated financial results for the 4th Quarter and Financial Year of 2008

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Herzogenaurach (euro adhoc) - Herzogenaurach, Germany, February 18,
2009 - PUMA AG announces its consolidated

financial results for the 4th Quarter and Financial Year of 2008

Highlights 4th Quarter . Consolidated sales up more than 7%
currency-adjusted reaching EUR 561 million

. Gross profit margin below last year due to close out sales .
Operational result reached EUR 37 million, down 29% versus last year
. Special items at EUR 25 million impact net earnings . EPS at EUR
0.60 versus EUR 2.40

Highlights January - December
. Global brand sales up 2.9%
. Consolidated sales up 8.5% currency-adjusted
. Gross profit margin 51.8% compared to 52.3%
. Operational result at EUR 350 million or 13.9% of sales
. EBIT including special items at EUR 325 million
. EPS at EUR 15.15 compared to EUR 16.80

Outlook 2009
. Orders at EUR 1,153 million versus EUR 1,218 million
. Challenging market environment expected

The year 2008 was in particular highlighted by major sports
events. PUMA successfully capitalized on these events and
continued to strengthen its position as a desirable sportlifestyle
brand. In the autumn of 2008, however, the world economy began to
slow down significantly in connection with the global financial
crisis.

Despite the decline in consumer spending, PUMA succeeded in posting
new record sales. Currency-adjusted, global brand sales rose by
2.9% to almost EUR 2.8 billion. Currency-adjusted consolidated
sales grew by as much as 8.5% to over EUR 2.5 billion.
Consolidated sales thus grew for the 14th consecutive year, with ten
of these years at double-digit rates. The gross profit margin
reached a strong 51.8% and was with 50 basis points slightly below
previous year's level due to the difficult market environment,
particularly in the fourth quarter. The operating profit before
special items totaled EUR 350.4 million or 13.9% of sales, compared
to 15.7% in the previous year. PUMA's position is one of strong
profitability, which is leading within the sporting goods
industry. However, earnings are affected by special items
associated with the global economic slowdown and, in
particular, the difficult consumer environment. In
consideration of the special items, earnings per share were EUR 15.15
compared to EUR 16.80 in the previous year.

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Sales and Earnings Development 4th Quarter 2008

Consolidated sales rose solidly in the fourth quarter 2008 despite a
continuous deterioration of the consumer environment. Sales increased
currency-adjusted by 7.3% and by 11.3% in Euro terms to EUR 561.3
million. All regions contributed to the growth: Sales in EMEA rose
currency-adjusted 5.5%, Americas sales grew 6.6% and Asia/Pacific
went up 10.7%. Footwear sales increased 6.2% and Apparel was up
5.8%. Sales in Accessories contributed a strong 26.1% increase
to the growth. The gross profit margin in the fourth quarter was
squeezed by close out sales and inventory devaluations and fell by
480 basis points from last year to 46.8%. All regions and
product segments were affected. SG&A increased by 6.3% to EUR 230.9
million, which helped to reduce the cost ratio from 43.1% to
41.1%. The improvement in the cost ratio did not completely offset
the softening of the gross profit margin. Operating profit declined
by 29.0% from EUR 52,4 million to EUR 37.2 million or from 10.4%
to 6.6% as a percentage of sales. Measures that had been implemented
to tackle the effects of the global economic slow-down and the
difficult consumer environment had an impact of EUR 25 million on
fourth quarter EBIT. Including these special items, earnings per
share were at EUR 0.60 compared to EUR 2.40 in the previous year.

Sales and Earnings Development January-December 2008

Global brand sales Global PUMA brand sales, comprised of consolidated
and licensed sales, rose by 2.9% to EUR 2.8 billion after currency
adjustments. In Euro terms, brand sales rose 1.1%.
Currency-adjusted footwear sales rose by 2.3% to EUR 1,471.6
million, and Apparel sales climbed by 5.1% to EUR 969.7 million.
Accessories posted a 0.5% decrease to EUR 326.7 million. In terms of
regions, solid growth was achieved in the EMEA and Americas regions.
Sales in Asia/Pacific decreased slightly. EMEA contributed 53.0%
(52.3%), America 25.8% (25.3%), and Asia/Pacific 21.3% (21.5%)
to global brand sales.

Consolidated sales up 8.5% currency-adjusted Consolidated sales
increased for the fourteenth consecutive year, with double- digit
growth rates in ten of these years. 2008 currency-adjusted sales
rose by 8.5% to EUR 2,524.2 million and in Euro terms 6.4%. Sales
from the company's own retail operations grew by 15.3% to EUR
468.6 million in 2008. The share of consolidated sales rose from
17.1% to 18.6%.

In terms of segments, Footwear sales grew currency-neutral by 6.3% to
EUR 1,434.3 million. In particular, the Teamsport, Running and
Lifestyle units contributed to this performance. Currency-adjusted
Apparel sales improved by 9.6% to EUR 899.3 million. The
Teamsport, Running and Fundamentals units posted solid performances.
Sales in Accessories, which includes bags, balls and sports
accessories, rose currency-adjusted by 21.7% to EUR 190.6 million,
with almost all product areas contributing significantly to the
rise.

Gross profit margin remains at a high level The gross profit margin
decreased by 50 basis points to 51.8% in 2008 and is therefore
still leading within the sporting goods industry. In absolute
figures, the gross profit margin grew from EUR 1,241.7 million
to EUR 1,306.6 million, or by 5.2%. The decrease in margin stems
from higher devaluations of increased inventories that were
necessary in the face of the market slowdown and to the higher
close-out sales in the fourth quarter. In Footwear, the gross profit
margin was at 51.7% compared to 52.3% last year; Apparel reached
51.9% after 52.2%, and Accessories achieved 51.7% compared to
52.8%.

Operating Expenses

Other operating expenses - comprised of selling expenses, expenses
for product development and design, and administration and general
expenses - increased by 8.5% in 2008, rising from EUR 905.2 million
to EUR 982.0 million before special items, or from 38.1% to 38.9%
as a percentage of sales. The increase in the cost ratio
resulted from scheduled brand investments, particularly in the
Marketing and Retail segment.

As part of selling expenses, investments in Marketing/Retail
increased by a total of EUR 80.2 million or 17.9% to EUR 528.6
million. The cost ratio rose from 18.9% to 20.9% of sales. This
increase derived from investments in the selective expansion of
the company's retail operations and stepped-up marketing activities
for the major sports events in 2008.

Expenses for product development and design decreased from EUR 58.1
million to EUR 55.1 million, or from 2.4% to 2.2% as a percentage
of sales. The decrease resulted from a weakening in the US
dollar compared to the Euro as a significant portion of
development costs is financed in US dollars. Like-for- like,
expenses for product development and design exceeded the previous
year's level.

Other selling, general and administration expenses were unchanged
from last year at EUR 398.4 million. As a percentage of sales this
represents an improved cost ratio from 16.8% to 15.8%.

Operating Expenses include depreciations of EUR 55.9 million in
total. This is an increase in depreciations of 21.4% compared to last
year, which mainly results from the scheduled expansion of the
company's own retail operations. Operating expenses before
depreciation increased by 50 basis points from 36.2% to 36.7% of
sales.

Operational Result

Operational result before special items declined 5.8% from EUR 372.0
million to EUR 350.4 million. As a percentage of sales, this
corresponds to an operating margin of 13.9%, compared to 15.7% in
the previous year. The decrease in the operating margin derives
exclusively from the scheduled brand investments. The decrease in
the operating margin derives exclusively from the scheduled
investments related to increased marketing around the major sports
events and selective retail expansion. Excluding these costs,
the operating margin exceeded last year's level.

Special Items

PUMA has taken measures to tackle the effects of the difficult
current market environment. The special items associated with these
measures had an impact of EUR 25 million in total on PUMA's EBIT in
the fourth quarter of 2008. Expenses related to special items
include depreciation of inventories, reorganization expenses as
well as impending losses.

After adjusting for the special items, EBIT amounted to EUR 325.4
million or 12.9% of sales.

Financial Result

The financial result was at EUR 1.1 million compared to EUR 10.5
million in the previous year. This includes interest income of EUR
11.9 million (previous year: EUR 21.2 million), as well as interest
expenses of EUR 6.7 million (previous year: EUR 5.3 million).
Measured against the average net financing base, this
corresponds to a rate of return of 1.7% compared to 3.9% in the
previous year. The financial result also includes expenses from
long-term purchase price liabilities from corporate acquisitions
amounting to EUR 3.1 million (previous year: EUR 3.5 million), and
EUR 1.0 million (previous year: EUR 2.0 million) from the valuation
of pension plans.

Earnings Before Taxes

Earnings before taxes (EBT) reached EUR 326.4 million compared to EUR
382.6 million in the previous year, which represents a decrease of
14.7%. Return was at 12.9% compared to 16.1%. Tax expenses
decreased from EUR 110.9 million to EUR 94.8 million. The tax
rate was at previous year's level of 29.0%.

Net Earnings Taking tax expenses and minority interests into account,
net earnings in 2008 amounted to EUR 232.8 million after EUR 269.0
million in the previous year. The decline of 13.5% resulted from
scheduled brand investments and special items in connection with the
measures taken. The net rate of return was 9.2% after 11.3% in the
previous year. Earnings per share came in at EUR 15.15, compared
to EUR 16.80, and diluted earnings per share were EUR 15.15, compared
to EUR 16.78.

Regional Development

Currency-adjusted sales in the EMEA region rose by 6.8% to EUR
1,299.3 million. In terms of segments, currency-adjusted Footwear
sales increased 4.1%, Apparel 8.8%, and Accessories 21.7%. The
gross profit margin reached 53.5% after 53.9% in the previous year.
The operating margin (EBIT) accounted for 18.2% of sales, compared
to 21.2%.

Currency-adjusted sales in the Americas region rose by 8.1% to EUR
651.3 million despite negative order indications at the beginning
of the year. Currency- adjusted Footwear sales were up 7.0%, and
Apparel grew 6.1%. Accessories posted a strong sales growth of
31.5%. The gross profit margin was 49.2%, compared to 50.7% in the
previous year. The operating margin was at 14.5%, compared to
17.6%. Currency-adjusted sales in the region's largest market, the
US, decreased by 4.1% to USD 538.1 million. The performance was
mainly affected by an ongoing difficult mall-based retail
environment. However, sales were above expectations as the sales
performance during the year showed a significant improvement
compared to the order trend seen at the beginning of the year. In
the second half of 2008, PUMA even achieved a growth in sales
despite a negative order book indication.

Currency-adjusted sales in Asia/Pacific grew by 13.0% to EUR 573.6
million. This improvement stems partly from the initial consolidation
of the subsidiary in Korea. Currency-adjusted Footwear sales
climbed 12.7%, Apparel was up 12.6%, and Accessories rose 16.0%.
The gross profit margin increased from 50.6% to 50.8%. Operating
margin remained at last year's level of 20.3%.

Net Assets and Financial Position

Equity ratio at 62%

The equity ratio as of December 31, 2008 remained unchanged at
62.0%. In absolute figures, shareholders' equity increased 1.9%,
rising from EUR 1,154.8 million to EUR 1,177.2 million. Total
assets rose by 1.9% from EUR 1,863.0 million to EUR 1,898.7 million.
This gives PUMA very solid financial resources and leaves it highly
stable despite the global financial crisis.

Working Capital

Working capital increased by 7.3%, rising from EUR 406.5 million
to EUR 436.4 million, which corresponds to 17.3% of sales compared
to 17.1% in the previous year. Working capital includes
inventories, trade receivables and trade payables, as well as
other current assets and current liabilities. The increase in working
capital derives mainly from a rise in inventory of 15.3% to EUR
430.8 million, which is partly attributable to the consolidation of
Korea. Trade receivables were up only slightly by 1.8% to EUR
396.5 million, which is an improvement relative to sales growth.
Trade payables increased by a total of 15.0% to EUR 269.1 million.

Cashflow

Gross cashflow decreased by 6.9% from EUR 420.2 million to EUR 391.1
million. Compared to the net cash provided by changes in net current
assets of EUR 3.0 million in the previous year, 2008 saw a net cash
outflow of EUR 77.0 million. This outflow of cash stems primarily
from financing the inventory increase. Taxes, interest and other
payments accounted for total outflows of EUR 95.0 million,
compared to EUR 120.8 million in the previous year. Tax
payments included in the total decreased from EUR 115.2 million to
EUR 88.3 million. In all, cash provided by operating activities
amounted to EUR 219.1 million, compared to EUR 302.4 million in the
previous year.

Net cash used for investing activities increased from EUR 93.5
million to EUR 133.3 million. The expansion of retail
operations, current investments and construction of "PUMA
Plaza", the new corporate headquarters in Herzogenaurach, accounted
for EUR 119.2 million compared to EUR 103.4 million in the previous
year. In addition, payments for purchase price liabilities in
connection with corporate acquisitions in the amount of EUR 24.9
million were recorded (previous year: EUR 9.4 million). Cash flow
from interest income decreased from EUR 21.3 million to EUR 11.9
million.

As a result, the "free cashflow" decreased from EUR 208.8 million
to EUR 85.8 million. Excluding the payments for acquisition, the
free cash flow amounted to EUR 110.7 million compared to EUR
218.3 million in the previous year. As a percentage of sales,
free cashflow (before acquisitions) was at 4.4%, compared to 9.2%.

Net cash used for financing activities mainly includes dividend
payments of EUR 42.5 million and investments of EUR 181.4 million
for the purchase of own shares.

Cash reported as of December 31, 2008 totaled EUR 375.0 million,
compared to EUR 522.5 million in the previous year.

Dividend

Despite the impact on earnings through special items, the Board of
Management and the Supervisory Board will propose a payout of a
dividend of 2.75 Euros from the retained earnings of PUMA AG at
the Annual General Meeting on May 13, 2009. As a percentage of
consolidated net earnings, this represents an increase from 15.8% to
17.8% of the dividend pay-out rate. The dividend is to be paid on the
day after the Annual General Meeting who will authorize the
dividend payout.

Own Shares

PUMA continued its share buy-back program and purchased another
100,000 of its own shares during the fourth quarter. At closing
date, 950,000 shares were held as treasury stock in the balance
sheet, accounting for 5.9% of total share capital and
representing a total investment of EUR 216.1 million.

Outlook 2009

As a result of the slowdown of the global economy and the
deterioration in consumer spending, order backlog as of year-end
declined by 5.4% or currency- adjusted 5.8% to EUR 1,152.5 million.
This includes mainly deliveries scheduled for the first and second
quarter of 2009. Currency-adjusted orders for Footwear decreased by
2.3% to EUR 698.3 million, and Apparel orders were down 12.4% to EUR
383.8 million. Currency-adjusted orders for Accessories stood at EUR
70.4 million and were unchanged from last year's level.
Currency-adjusted orders in the EMEA region were down by 10.0% to
EUR 610.9 million. Orders in the Americas region increased
significantly by 19.9% currency-neutral to EUR 280.7 million.
Because of the difficult market environment in the Asia/Pacific
region orders declined by 15.9% to EUR 260.7 million after
several years of double-digit growth rates.

Performance in the year 2009 will be difficult to forecast due to
the general ongoing market environment. However, PUMA is prepared to
react appropriately in an uncertain market environment and to a
weak economy. The implemented measures, which were already
reflected in the expenses recorded on December 31, 2008, should
contribute accordingly.

Jochen Zeitz, Vorstandsvorsitzender: "Despite a very difficult market
situation and a weak consumer sentiment, PUMA managed to post new
sales records in the last financial year. In particular, sales growth
in the fourth quarter was solid. We have implemented measures in the
fourth quarter to prepare us properly for the coming year and will
react flexibly to further changes in the market environment."

This document contains forward-looking information about the
Company's financial status and strategic initiatives. Such
information is subject to a certain level of risk and uncertainty
that could cause the Company's actual results to differ
significantly from the information discussed in this document.
The forward-looking information is based on the current
expectations and prognosis of the management team. Therefore,
this document is further subject to the risk that such
expectations or prognosis, or the premise of such underlying
expectations or prognosis, become erroneous. Circumstances that
could alter the Company's actual results and procure such results
to differ significantly from those contained in forward-looking
statements made by or on behalf of the Company include, but are not
limited to those discussed be above.

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PUMA is one of the world's leading sportlifestyle companies that
designs and develops footwear, apparel and accessories. It is
committed to working in ways that contribute to the world by
supporting Creativity, SAFE Sustainability and Peace, and by staying
true to the values of being Fair, Honest, Positive and Creative in
decisions made and actions taken. PUMA starts in Sport and ends in
Fashion. Its Sport Performance and Lifestyle labels include
categories such as Football, Running, Motorsports, Golf and Sailing.
The Black label features collaborations with renowned designers such
as Alexander McQueen, Yasuhiro Mihara and Sergio Rossi. The PUMA
Group owns the brands PUMA, Tretorn and Hussein Chalayan. The
company, which was founded in 1948, distributes its products in more
than 120 countries, employs more than 9,000 people worldwide and has
headquarters in Herzogenaurach/Germany, Boston, London and Hong Kong.
For more information, please visit www.puma.com

Rounding differences may be observed in the percentage and numerical
values expressed in millions of Euro since the underlying
calculations are always based on thousands of Euro.

Rounding differences may be observed in the percentage and numerical
values expressed in millions of Euro since the underlying
calculations are always based on thousands of Euro.

Rounding differences may be observed in the percentage and numerical
values expressed in millions of Euro since the underlying
calculations are always based on thousands of Euro.

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end of announcement euro adhoc
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ots Originaltext: Puma AG Rudolf Dassler Sport
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Further inquiry note:

Kerstin Neuber

Telefon: +49 (0)9132 81-2984

E-Mail: Kerstin.Neuber@puma.com

Branche: Consumer Goods
ISIN: DE0006969603
WKN: 696960
Index: Midcap Market Index, MDAX, CDAX, Classic All Share, HDAX,
Prime All Share
Börsen: Börse Frankfurt / regulated dealing/prime standard
Börse Berlin / free trade
Börse Hamburg / free trade
Börse Stuttgart / free trade
Börse Düsseldorf / free trade
Börse Hannover / free trade
Börse München / regulated dealing