Adidas hopes to score big profits at World Cup

Adidas raised its sales forecasts for the year yesterday, as it gave a more optimistic outlook for the World Cup on the back of strong first-quarter results.

The German sportswear giant, which also owns Reebok, is sponsoring 12 teams in the tournament in South Africa, two more than its rival Nike.

Herbert Hainer, the Adidas chief executive, said: "With the Reebok turnaround gathering pace and the World Cup kicking off in a few weeks, we have a lot of reasons to be optimistic."

The company's net income rose to €168m (£145m) in the first quarter, from €4m last year. Puma, which is sponsoring seven World Cup teams, also raised its full-year outlook recently.

James Thompson