Adidas net profit slips on Q4 charges

FRANKFURT - Adidas AG, the world's second-largest sporting-goods maker, plunged in Frankfurt trading after fourth-quarter profit fell 64 percent, more than analysts estimated.

The company reported that fourth-quarter net income fell to 19 million euros ($25.9 million) from 54 million euros a year earlier. That missed the 27.6 million-euro average estimate of eight analysts compiled by Bloomberg.

Sales slid 4.5 percent to 2.46 billion euros as the company wrote down the value of its Reebok retail unit in China by 33 million euros after closing some stores in the country. Revenue in China dropped by almost a third in the quarter as consumers spent less compared with the same quarter in 2008, the year of the Beijing Olympics.