Cash flow

Cash flow

Net cash from operating activities

Gross cash flow fell by 8.9% from € 964.1 million to € 878.2 million in financial year 2024. This development was due to the decrease in earnings before taxes by 3.3% to € 462.3 million and the decrease in non-cash adjustments in relation to the financial result and other non-cash effected expenses and income by 14.4% to € 415.9 million.

As a result of the smaller increase in working capital compared to the previous year, there was a lower cash outflow from the change in net working capital* of € -69.4 million in financial year 2024, compared to a cash outflow of € ‑129.2 million in the previous year. The cash outflow from payments for income taxes reduced from € -181.3 million in the previous year to € -114.1 million in financial year 2024. On a net basis, due to the reduced cash outflows in connection with working capital and income taxes, net cash flow from operating activities increased by 6.3% from € 653.6 million to € 694.8 million.

Net cash used in investing activities

In financial year 2024, cash outflow from investing activities decreased from a total of € 284.6 million to € 230.5 million. The investments in fixed assets included in this figure decreased from € 300.4 million in the previous year to € 263.0 million in 2024. As a result, investments in 2024 were below those set out in the investment plan, which had originally forecast investments at the previous year's level. The investments in 2024 mainly related to our own retail stores and our logistics infrastructure. In addition, investments in the modernisation of the IT infrastructure continued to be made. The decrease in investments primarily related to the North America and Latin America segments. By contrast, investments have increased in the European segment.

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* Net current assets include working capital line items plus current assets and liabilities, which are not part of the working capital calculation. Current lease liabilities are not part of the net current assets.

Free cash flow before acquisitions

The free cash flow before acquisitions is the balance of the cash inflows and outflows from operating and investing activities. In addition, an adjustment is made for incoming and outgoing payments that relate to the purchase or sale of shareholdings, where applicable.

In financial year 2024, free cash flow before acquisitions improved by 25.8% from € 369.0 million in the previous year to € 464.3 million as a result of increased cash inflows from operating activities and lower cash outflows from investing activities in 2024. Free cash flow before acquisitions was 5.3% of sales compared to 4.3% in the previous year.

Net cash used in financing activities

The net cash used in financing activities increased overall from a cash outflow of € 277.1 million in the previous year to a cash outflow of € 697.8 million in 2024. The increase in cash outflow was largely due to the repayment of financial liabilities in 2024 compared with the assumption of financial liabilities in the previous year.

A dividend payment of € 122.8 million was distributed to the shareholders of PUMA SE for financial year 2023. The payment of dividends also amounted to € 122.8 million in the previous year. The repurchase of treasury shares in 2024 resulted in a cash outflow of € 50.0 million (previous year: € 0.0 million). The net cash used in financing activities also included payouts to non-controlling interests totalling € 89.4 million in 2024 (previous year: € 92.4 million). Cash outflows for the repayment of financial liabilities amounted to € 125.0 million in 2024, compared with € 59.1 million in the previous year. In financial year 2024, cash inflows from borrowings amounted to € 39.0 million (previous year: € 299.6 million). The cash outflows for the repayment of lease liabilities and related interest expenses included in the cash outflow from financing activities increased from a total of € 254.8 million in the previous year to € 273.6 million in 2024.

As of 31 December 2024, PUMA had cash and cash equivalents of € 368.2 million. This represents a decrease of 33.4% compared to the previous year (€ 552.9 million). In addition, as of 31 December 2024, the PUMA Group had credit lines totalling € 1,842.9 million (previous year: € 1,552.8 million). The increase of € 290.1 million in confirmed credit lines compared to the previous year resulted in particular from the early repayment of the revolving credit facility of €800.0 million with an original term until December 2025. This credit facility was replaced in December 2024 by a new revolving credit facility of € 1,200.0 million, with a term until December 2029 and two further extension options of one year each. The financing partners are again nine of PUMA's international core banks. The unused credit lines amounted to € 1,360.2 million at the balance sheet date, compared to € 986.1 million in the previous year.‎