FRANKFURT, Aug 8, 2007 (AFP) - German sportswear giant Adidas reported a slight increase in first-half net profit on Wednesday, but its results revealed weakness in North America and sluggish sales by US unit Reebok.

The group's net profit rose 3.0 percent to 232 million euros (319 million dollars) in the first half of the year compared with the same period of 2006, while sales grew 1.0 percent.

Sales at Reebok, a running shoe specialist bought last year for 3.1 billion euros, fell by 6.0 percent in the first half of the year on a like-for-like basis, Adidas said.

FRANKFURT, Aug 8, 2007 (AFP) - German sportswear giant Adidas on Wednesday reported a 27-percent rise in second-quarter profit as costs linked to the acquisition of Reebok fell.

Net profit rose to 104 million euros (143 million dollars) in the second quarter from 82 million euros during the same period last year.

Analysts polled by the Thomson Financial agency had forecast net profit of 95.6 million euros and sales of 2.37 billion euros.

Turnover declined to 2.400 billion euros from 2.428 billion as Reebok sales continued to disappoint.

LOS ANGELES, July 24, 2007 (AFP) - California`s high court has decided that football shoes made from kangaroo leather cannot be sold in the state, rejecting arguments from sportswear giant Adidas.

Lawyers for Adidas held that the state ban on kangaroo products was in conflict with a US federal law that allows for imports of some kangaroo-skin items.