Under Armour cuts profit forecast as costs surge

(Reuters) - Under Armour Inc lowered its annual profit forecast on Wednesday as its margins take a hit from surging transportation and commodity costs as well as more discounts to attract customers.

COVID-19 flare-ups, worker shortages and the Russia-Ukraine war have snarled global supply chains and driven up prices of raw materials such as cotton, pinching profit margins of companies at a time when they are also seeing increasing consumer pushback to price hikes.

Under Armour projected an adjusted profit of $0.47 to $0.53 per share for fiscal 2023, compared with its previous forecast of $0.63 to $0.68 per share.

Net revenue in the first quarter ended June 30 stayed flat at $1.35 billion, marginally ahead of analysts' estimates of $1.34 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES.

(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)