Frankfurt - Shares in Adidas AG rallied Tuesday after the German sporting goods-to-fashion group reported a 12-per-cent rise in second-quarter net profit after the European football championships and the Beijing Olympics boosted sales.

The world's second biggest sports equipment maker said net earnings in the latest quarter rose to 116 million euros (180.2 million dollars) compared to 104 million euros a year earlier.

"We even expect to exceed some of our original goals and at the upcoming Olympic Games we are ready to showcase the power of our brands to audiences around the world," said Adidas chief executive Herbert Hainer.

Based in the small Bavarian town of Herzogenaurach, the group said second-quarter revenue increased by 5 per cent, underpinned by strong growth in emerging economies, particularly in Asia, where sales jumped 16 per cent in the period under review.

This helped to offset a weak performance in North America, where sales slumped 20 per cent as US economic problems continued to mount.

Analysts were positively surprised by Adidas' latest quarterly report, with investors marking up its shares following the release of the results.

The company's stock was trading up by more than 4 per cent at 40.00 euros in mid-morning trading in Frankfurt.

Adidas confirmed its 2008 target of a 15-per-cent increase in net earnings and, as Hainer indicated, might even surpass its goal.

"Our performance in the first half of the year puts us firmly on track to achieve all of our financial targets for 2008," he said. (dpa)