Half-year sales up 6.7%, “in line” with full-year targets

French group Interparfums saw its sales increase by 6.7% in the first half of the year, thanks to “dynamic activity” and “a global perfume market that remains buoyant,” the company said in a press release on Tuesday.

“We are broadly in line with our annual targets following a good performance in the first half of the year, despite a complicated situation in the beauty market in certain countries,” commented Interparfums CEO Philippe Benacin, quoted in the group’s press release.

Over the first two quarters of the year, Interparfums posted sales of €422.6 million, with particularly dynamic sales in the second quarter, up by almost 16% compared to the second quarter of the previous year.

For the 2024 financial year, Interparfums is aiming, in an April press release, for sales of between €880 and €900 million, compared with almost €800 million in 2023.

In the press release published on Tuesday, Philippe Santi, chief operating officer of Interparfums, nevertheless forecasts “a limited decline” in Interparfums’ operating profit in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023.

Over the first six months of the year, the group’s performance was boosted by the “successful relaunch of Lacoste fragrances.”

“The resumption of Lacoste fragrance distribution has exceeded our expectations, and the initial feedback from the launch of the Lacoste Original line has been extremely positive,” says Philippe Benacin, also in the press release.

The crocodile brand, whose fragrances Interparfums began selling this year, accounts for 36.8 million euros in sales and is pulling the group as a whole upwards, while the rest of the brands are posting stable or falling sales compared with 2023.

Sales of Montblanc fragrances, which account for nearly a quarter of Interparfums sales, are down 4% on the first half of 2023, at €103 million.

Jimmy Choo fragrances, whose sales are comparable to those of Montblanc fragrances, reported stable sales for the half-year as a whole, despite a sharp rise in the second quarter.

The Lanvin brand, on the other hand, which was penalised by “the voluntary limitation of shipments to certain Eastern European countries and the absence of any major launches during the period,” saw its sales fall by 23% compared to last year, to €20.9 million.