Adidas Sales Rose 15 to 20 Percent in 2017

HERZOGENAURACH, Germany — Sales at German sportswear firm Adidas rose between 15 and 20 percent to more than 20 billion euros ($24 billion) in 2017, helped by growth in China, North America and e-commerce, chief executive Kasper Rorsted said on Wednesday.

An Adidas spokeswoman said there was no change to the company's forecast for sales to rise at a currency-adjusted 17-19 percent in 2017. It reports annual results on March 14.

Adidas shares were up 1.6 percent at 10:15 am, the biggest increase on the German blue-chip index.

Analysts are forecasting a headline sales increase of 11 percent to 21.3 billion euros for 2017, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.

Speaking at a conference on Asia in Düsseldorf, Rorsted said Adidas saw huge potential in China, which is its most profitable market.

Asked if he could imagine a Chinese investor becoming an anchor investor in the company, Rorsted replied that he could imagine everything.

By Matthias Inverardi and Emma Thomasson; editors: Arno Schuetze and Mark Potter.