Adidas earnings take beating on breakup with Ye, China slump

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Adidas’ breakup with the rapper formerly known as Kanye West and the inability to sell his popular Yeezy line of shoes helped batter earnings at the end of last year. The German shoe and sportswear maker said Wednesday that higher supply costs and slumping revenue in China also helped lead to a net loss of 513 million euros or $540 million in the fourth quarter. That contrasts with a profit of 213 million euros in the same period a year ago. More losses could be ahead as the company forecast a 500 million-euro hit to earnings going forward this year if it decides not to repurpose the remaining Yeezy products it has in stock.