FRANKFURT - Adidas AG, the world's second-largest sporting-goods maker, raised its 2011 profit and sales forecast on improving profitability of the Reebok brand and revenue growth in developing markets such as China.

Adidas expects earnings per share (EPS) to rise at a rate "approaching" 15 percent, the Germany-based company said in a release on Thursday.

The company had previously forecast an EPS increase of between 10 and 15 percent.

The stock rose as much as 5.3 percent, the most in almost three months.

"The outlook has gotten more bullish," said Sebastian Frericks, a Frankfurt-based analyst at Bankhaus Metzler, who has a "buy" recommendation for Adidas' stock.

"Pressure has increased in the sports branch, but they still managed to increase their margins. Reebok is an important factor."

Adidas joins larger rival Nike Inc in boosting forecasts for this year.

Adidas has benefited from higher demand at its Reebok unit, which has added retro sneakers and toning shoes to capitalize on growth in personal-fitness spending.

The company is also expanding in China, Russia and North America, where it plans to generate about half of its targeted 50 percent sales increase by 2015.

The analyst consensus for full-year EPS growth is 19 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Stronger than ever

Second-quarter net income rose 11 percent to 140 million euros ($200 million), beating the average 137.3 million-euro estimate of analysts surveyed.

Nike, the world's largest sporting-goods company, in June raised its long-term sales forecast after lifting prices to combat costs for cotton, labor and transportation.

Smaller rival Puma SE last month said it planned to raise prices by as much as 10 percent starting in the fourth quarter and reported profit that exceeded analyst estimates.

"No matter which retailer I speak to, or which market share statistic I read, our product sell-throughs are stronger than they have ever been," Adidas Chief Executive Officer Herbert Hainer said on Thursday.

Full-year sales will gain about 10 percent on a currency neutral basis, the company said.

Previously the company had targeted a "high single-digit" rate.

Second-quarter sales rose 5 percent to 3.06 billion euros, led by revenue in China, which rose 31 percent.

Bloomberg News