Adidas Posts Q4 Loss Of $346M Due To Weakening Reebok Brand

adidas lost $356M (all figures U.S.) in Q4 '12 as it "wrote down the value of its weakening Reebok brand," but the company said that "sales and earnings would increase this year and raised its dividend payments." That comes after a profit of $1.3M in the year-ago period. Sales rose 4% to $4.39B. For FY '12, net income fell 14% to $685M, compared to $798M in Q4 '11. Group sales increased 12% to $19.40B. Shares rose after today's earnings report, trading 3.7% higher at $96.80 in morning trading in Europe (AP, 3/7).

Meanwhile, adidas Chair & CEO Herbert Hainer said that the company "has dropped the plan to sell its hockey business as potential buyers did not make offers interesting enough." The ice hockey business suffered an 18% drop in sales in Q4 due to the NHL lockout (REUTERS, 3/7).