Reebok International results show higher profit last year

Reebok International Limited with its subsidiary RILUK IPCO Limited has filed accounts for 2023 with profit surging, although it has to be said that with the comparable period covering only the 10 months ended December 31 2022, the comparison wasn’t a tough one.

The inconsistent dates come because March 2022 was the moment at which Reebok was acquired from Adidas by Authentic Brands Group.

So what do the figures for the Cheshire-headquartered business show us? In the latest year, Rebook global royalty income rose to $276 million from $196 million in the previous period. Operating profit was $177 million, up from $92 million.

The company said that Reebok generated UK sales of $20.5 million during the year, which was up from $11.1 million in the previous period, with $144.1 million generated in the US (up from $117.1 million) and $111.4 million in the rest of the world (up from $77.7 million in the 10-month period).

In the accounts, the company said that profitability was boosted by the business model that Authentic operates, reduced marketing and other business overheads together with a higher number of licenses with strong minimum contractual amounts.

This is expected to continue to act as as a profits booster and provide the group with significant cash inflows to support its ongoing operating business.

Of course, it’s hard to get a good picture of what’s happening at the business from one set of results that compare to a financial ‘year’ of a significantly different length following a long period during which it was owned by another company that operates in a very different way! The results it eventually releases for the current financial year will give a much clearer picture.

There was no hint of what those results might contain in this set of accounts but we do know that the company has been very busy this year. It’s linked with H&M for a back-to-school collaboration; assigned an outerwear license to Focus Brands for the UK and Europe; shown its latest collection from licensee New Guards in Paris in June; unveiled an AI fashion experience; signed an eyewear deal with Mondottica; and joined M&S’s Sports Edit line-up, along with many other developments.