Adidas cuts targets due golf company to Russia

(Reuters) - The world's second-biggest sportswear firm, which is losing ground to competing Nike (NKE.N), said on Thursday it would not have the ability to match objectives it set for 2015 and would give further details on Aug. 7, when it reports full quarterly results. Adidas said second-quarter sales climbed 2 percent to 3.47 billion euros ($4.6 billion), a rise of 10 percent on a currency-neutral basis, while attributable net income was 144 million, slightly above analysts' average forecasts. The business said money effects, higher advertising spending in addition to a huge drop in golf sales had offset otherwise powerful underlying quarterly increase in most major types and markets for the Adidas and Reebok brands. It said it now expected a mid-to-high single-digit sales increase for 2014, before currency effects, down from an earlier goal for a high single-digit rise. It also forecast net black nike air max.income of around 650 million euros, versus between 830 and nike air max 95 cheap.930 million. Ingo Speich, a fund manager at Union Investment that's the tenth-biggest investor in Adidas with a 1.2 percent stake said: "The profit warning could nearly have bee nike air max 2012 black. predicted but the extent of it's devastating... unfavourable conditions are no alibi. Nike is snitching Adidas' thunder in important marketplaces" CUTS TO GOLF, RUSSIA BUSINESS Adidas cut its expectations because of its TaylorMade golf company as the department suffered from slow sales of stock that is old and poor retail opinion after sales fell 18 percent. It said it'd take more steps launch a restructuring programme to align prices with lower expectations for the golf industry, which has been losing popularity in its top marketplace, the U.S. and to cut inventory. Adidas also said it was cutting investment in Russia, where it runs raising hazards to spending and consumer sentiment and more than 1,000 stores, owing to a fall in the rouble since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis. "Current tensions in the area stage to higher dangers to the short-term profitability contribution from Russia/CIS," it said. Adidas said it would considerably reduce its shop opening plan for 2015 and 2014 and raise the number of shop closings. Russia accounted for nearly 7 percent a year ago. Adidas had said as recently as last month that it'd not seen any impact there - beyond the translation effect of the weaker rouble. Adidas also announced plans to step up spending on advertising in North America and western Europe, especially in the next 18 months, building on the powerful performance of its teams and players at the World Cup this summer. "Everything we declared today has one aim: to strengthen our brands, to drive consumer want, and to set our group upwards for long term success," Chief Executive Herbert Hainer said in a statement. "We will return the group to a higher and more consistent level of earnings increase in the mid to long term."