Adidas reports recovery at golf unit it wants to sell

BERLIN, Aug 4 (Reuters) – German sportswear group Adidas reported an improvement in second-quarter sales and profitability at the golf business it is trying to sell, helping support the more bullish forecast for 2016 it gave last week.

Adidas, which last week raised its 2016 guidance for a fourth time after posting strong preliminary quarterly results, said revenues at its golf business rose 7 percent, driven by double-digit growth at the TaylorMade brand.

It expects higher product margins at TaylorMade to help the group’s gross margin for 2016, which it now expects at 48.0-48.3 percent versus 48.3 percent last year, compared with previous guidance for a fall of up to 50 basis points.

Adidas which launched a review of its golf business a year ago, said in May that it would seek to sell TaylorMade and Adams, which sell golf clubs and other equipment, as well as the Ashworth golf shoes and clothing brand. (Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Christoph Steitz)