Adidas posts losses but is optimistic about this year

German clothing and footwear giants Adidas has posted a surprise fourth-quarter loss. However, this was mostly due to the cost of acquiring former competitor Reebok. The company is now hoping for an impressive year considering the Soccer World Cup is coming and this would help them boost sales of branded merchandise.

The company posted a net loss of 4 million euros ($4.8 million) after a profit of 20 million a year ago. Market experts had expected the company to post a profit of 3 million euros. The revenue figures led to decline in the share prices for the company in the stock markets.

Adidas acquired Reebok for a reported $3.8 billion with the goal of overtaking the market leaders Nike in the coming future. However, the company also posted declining sales of their products in the US market in the third quarter. All these factors resulted in the reported losses.

Chief Executive Herbert Hainer said in a statement about the company’s immediate goals: “Many of our current efforts will now focus on turning around the Reebok brand.” Adidas is hoping that the fact that the Fifa World Cup is taking place in their domestic market of Germany would help them this year and they are hoping to post an impressive profits next year and the coming quarters.