In the first quarter, Safilo’s net sales amounted to 277.2 million euros, down 1.8 percent at constant exchange rates and 3.5 percent at current exchange rates influenced by the reduction in sales of Jimmy Choo.
The company said in a statement that the other main drivers of the period were the weak performance of North America and the temporary slowdown of some emerging markets, dynamics largely offset by the continued progress of the direct-to-consumer (DTC) business, and the good growth of the European market.
Gross profit amounted to 166.2 million euros, down 1 percent, while gross margin improved by 160 basis points to 60 percent. In the period, adjusted EBITDA amounted to 32 million euros, down 1.3 percent, while the adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 11.5 percent.
Commenting on the first quarter update, Angelo Trocchia, Safilo chief executive officer, said: “In a business environment which is still complex and uncertain, it was again a positive start to the year for our European business, supported by the brilliant growth of Carrera, which has made its debut in our main markets with a brand-new women’s collection that is gathering excellent feedback, and David Beckham, which continued to register strong progress in the global premium segment.”
In North America, the company’s sales amounted to 114.5 million euros, down 7.2 percent at constant exchange rates and 8.2 percent at current exchange rates impacted by a subdued winter season. In the quarter, the Group was also affected by the contraction of Jimmy Choo, a licence not renewed at the end of 2023.
In Europe, Safilo delivered sales of 125.3 million euros, up 5.8 percent at constant exchange rates and 3 percent with positive start to the year in France, where Safilo strengthened and expanded its commercial network, and in the Central and Eastern European markets, driven by the good performance of the internet pure player (IPP) channel in Germany and the strong progress of the business in Poland and Turkey.
The company added that in Asia and Pacific, sales grew by 2.3 percent at constant exchange rates and declined by 1.1 percent at current exchange rates, reflecting, on one side, a positive Chinese market, also supported by the good results achieved during the Shanghai Fair in March, and, on the other, some weakness in other Asian markets most impacted by the decline in sales of Jimmy Choo eyewear.
In the rest of the world, sales fell by 12.7 percent at constant exchange rates and by 11.3 percent at current exchange rates, mainly due to a soft travel retail business in Latin America and the different timing of some deliveries to Middle Eastern markets.