Adidas AG said Tuesday its net profit fell 11 percent in the first quarter as marketing costs related to the Reebok brand and the comparison with last year's World Cup cut into profits.

The Herzogenaurach-based company, which competes with market leader Nike Inc and cross-town rival Puma AG, earned 128 million euros (174.27 million U.S. dollars) in the January-March period, compared with 144 million euros a year earlier, matching the expectations of analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires.

Earlier this year, Chief Executive Herbert Hainer had warned that first-quarter results would fall between 10 to 20 percent. The company confirmed its full-year financial targets of 15 percent growth in net profit through the end of the year.

Sales rose three percent to 2.54 billion euros in the three month-period, compared with 2.46 billion euros a year earlier, beating analysts' expectations of 2.51 billion euros, thanks in part to the consolidation of Reebok, which Adidas bought in 2006 for 3.8 billion dollars.

Adidas said it still expects currency-adjusted sales to increase in a mid single-digit percentage range. Reebok revenue is expected to rise at a low-single-digit rate while the Adidas brand should post sales growth in a mid-single-digit range in 2007.

"Our group has gotten off to a strong start in 2007," Hainer said. "The Reebok integration is beginning to pay off as we realize the first revenue and cost synergies. Adidas and TaylorMade-Adidas Golf impressed with strong product launches."

Shares of Adidas were down nearly one percent to close at 42.23 euros on Monday.