Puma Q2 preview - results due pre-market on 7 August Management today published a short recap of guidance ahead of the quiet period. Our forecasts for the quarter are unchanged besides some small mark-to-market currency adjustments. The company, like most of the rest of the sports sector, has said that profits this year will be quite back-end loaded, so the prospect of material positive surprises seems limited. We believe the focus of the results is likely to be on the degree of inflection expected in Q3. Our full year estimates are broadly unchanged. Q2 expectations: c.+3% constant currency sales In May, management commented that it was comfortable with Q2 expectations of c.+2% to +3% cFX sales growth, and we model +3%, with each region improving sequentially, although this growth is offset by a negative currency contribution. Gross margin should rise more than in Q1 (we model +120bps yoy) thanks to slightly lower currency and promotion headwinds, although the freight situation is uncertain. Operating cost ratios may worsen year-over-year due to currency and the global brand campaign costs. We model Q2 EBIT of EUR c.123m, trimmed by EUR 2m due to FX. We land at Q2 EPS EUR 0.34, mindful of volatility in the financial result line (see Figure 2). Full Year 2024: back-end loaded We expect management to reiterate its full year EBIT guidance of EUR 620-700m. Consensus currently sits around the mid-point while we sit at EUR 685m. We think that investor focus will remain on Puma''s order books, the timing of its lo-profile inventory drops and the shape of the H2 recovery. Reiterate Neutral Puma shares rose sharply on Q1 results in May but have drifted since. We see limited catalysts in the near term - although we keep a keen eye on Austria and Switzerland''s progress through Euro 2024 - with more excitement about the product pipeline likely to build heading into 2025. We leave our headline forecasts unchanged (apart from minor FX adjustments) and our...