Berlin

GERMAN sportswear company Adidas reported better-than-expected first-quarter sales growth on Tuesday, helped by a strong performance from its running and fashion businesses as well as a recovery of its struggling North America arm.

Adidas said sales rose 17 per cent to 4.083 billion euros (S$6.1 billion), or by 9 per cent excluding the impact of currencies, which was ahead of average analyst forecasts for 3.913 billion euros.