By Andrea Figueras

Adidas is targeting continued sales growth and market-share gains this year, as arch-rival Nike seeks a turnaround to revive its struggling brand.

The German sporting-goods company embarked on its own revamp after Bjorn Gulden took the helm in 2023, taking steps to reposition its brand and clear out excess inventory. The company said its sales in North America and the region that includes China returned to double-digit growth in the fourth quarter.

For 2025, Adidas anticipates currency-neutral sales growth at a high-single-digit rate, it said Wednesday. It also forecasts an increase in operating profit to between 1.7 billion and 1.8 billion euros ($1.81 billion-$1.91 billion).

Adidas completed last year the sale of the remaining Yeezy-branded sneakers from a collaboration with rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, and said its 2025 guidance doesn't include any Yeezy revenue or profit.

The company enters 2025 in good shape and sees potential to increase its market share in all regions, Gulden said.

"We could have the ambition of being number one in all markets except in the U.S.," the CEO said during a call after results.

Meanwhile, rival Nike continues to pursue a turnaround led by Chief Executive Elliott Hill, aiming to regain some of the market share it lost to its competitors after years of missteps under the leadership of John Donahoe. Analysts at UBS said in a note prior to the results that Adidas should be able to gain shelf space with wholesaler partners amid continuing weakness at Nike.

Adidas expects sales for its namesake brand to grow at a double-digit rate in markets including North America. Sales growth accelerated in the region to 15% in the fourth quarter excluding currency movements, driven by improvements in the wholesale channel as well as the company's own retail stores.

In the region that includes China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, Adidas reported sales growth of 16% at constant currency for the quarter.

The company reported a narrowed net loss of 39 million euros for the fourth quarter compared with a loss of 379 million euros in the prior-year period.

However, shares in Adidas were down 2.2% in European morning trade, while Germany's DAX blue-chip index was up 2.9%.

Investors are likely to be underwhelmed by Adidas's outlook, though uncertainty about trade tariffs added risk to the consumer backdrop, analysts at Jefferies wrote in a note to clients.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Piral Dadhania expects the company to beat its guidance this year. In 2024, it also issued a cautious outlook to manage expectations and be in a position to beat and raise guidance later, the analyst said.

"The uncertainty in the U.S. is there. We have no idea what will happen, so we are conservative," the CEO said.

As part of the revamp, the group wants to be closer to the consumer and give its local teams more authority. "Less decision-making in the headquarters requires fewer people," Chief Financial Officer Harm Ohlmeyer said.

It has identified up to 500 roles that are obsolete in its headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany. Gulden noted that some people will leave the group, while others will be relocated.

The company confirmed preliminary figures released in January with quarterly sales of 5.965 billion euros, up 24% on year. It swung to an operating profit of 57 million euros from a loss of 377 million euros.

Adidas proposed a dividend of 2 euros a share, up from 70 cents a share the year prior.

Write to Andrea Figueras at andrea.figueras@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 05, 2025 08:14 ET (13:14 GMT)

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