Split with Kanye West weighs on 2022 results
Dividend set to fall to 0.7 euroshare
CEO promises turnaround after predicted 2023 loss
Adidas still deciding whether to repurpose Yeezy stock

HERZOGENAURACH, GermanyLondon, March 8 Reuters Adidas will slash its 2022 dividend, the sporstwear maker said on Wednesday, after warning a split with the artist formerly known as Kanye West could push it to its first annual loss in three decades this year.

Chief Executive Bjorn Gulden, who will speak to investors later in the day for the first time since taking the reins on Jan. 1, pledged to rebuild the bruised brand after dealing with the fallout from ending Adidas39; partnership with West, who now goes by Ye, which yielded the lucrative Yeezy sneaker line.

Adidas has not said how much the Yeezy brand has made since its first deal with Ye at the end of 2013, but analysts estimate it accounted for as much as 7 of total sales in its best years.

The company needs to refocus on its core business and faces a transition year before returning to profit in 2024, and will return to its sportsbased roots, Gulden said.

You will see us investing in more sports… because that is the DNA of this company, he told reporters.

The company will recommend a dividend of 0.70 euros 0.7374 per share, down from 3.30 euros a share in 2021, at a May 11 annual general meeting, it said.

Adidas shares were down 2.1 by 1230 GMT. They have, however outperformed rivals Puma and Nike since the start of…