PARIS: A return to growth in its struggling Gucci brand helped French luxury and sports clothing group Kering post a glittering 32-percent leap in net profits to 696 million euros ($773 million) last year.
While group operating profit dipped one percent, sales climbed 15.4 percent in nominal terms to 11.58 billion euros.
The French luxury group had been weighed down by a slowdown in sales at its flagship Gucci brand but a turnaround engineered by new creative director Alessandro Michele appears to be bearing fruit.
Gucci sales returned to growth, rising by 11.5 percent, even if operating profits were down.
“The brand’s new creative vision — enthusiastically received by the trade press and customers alike — coupled with the rapid roll-out of the brand’s new strategy... provided fresh impetus and drove solid, promising performances in the fourth quarter of the year,” the company said in a statement.
Gucci sales rose by five percent on a comparable basis in the final quarter of last year.
“Kering’s solid 2015 results reflect brisk sales and improved operating performances in the second half of the year,” CEO Francois-Henri Pinault said, noting they came in more complex economic and geopolitical environment.
Overall, luxury activities saw sales rise 4.1 percent on a comparable basis and operating income edged up 2.5 percent, which the company said was primarily fueled by strong performances by its directly owned stores in mature markets, in particular western Europe and Japan.
The Yves Saint-Laurent brand was the star performer, with sales up by a quarter on a comparable basis and operating income up by 60 percent.
The Puma brand, which dominates Kering’s sports and lifestyle activities, saw sales rise 6.8 percent on a comparable basis, even if operating profit fell by a quarter, which the company said was mostly due to unfavorable currency effects and higher marketing costs as part of brand’s repositioning.
Sales of 11.58 billion euros were slightly higher than the 11.44 billion expected by analysts surveyed by Factset financial data supplier.
The 4.6-percent rise in sales when exchange rate effects were stripped out “was the best performance by the Group in the past three years and that dynamic is reflected particularly in the fourth quarter with an eight-percent rise in sales in comparable terms,” said financial director, Jean-Marc Duplaix.
Kering’s board proposed a dividend payment of 4.00 euros per share for 2015, unchanged from the previous year.
Gucci’s styles shine in Kerling’s earnings
Gucci’s styles shine in Kerling’s earnings
Saudi Export-Import Bank signs reinsurance agreement with the German Export Credit Agency
RIYADH: The Saudi Export-Import Bank has signed a reinsurance agreement with Germany’s official Export Credit Agency, managed by Euler Hermes Aktiengesellschaft, with the aim of enhancing credit risk insurance coverage to meet the needs of local exporters of capital goods and production inputs from the Federal Republic of Germany.
This agreement is part of the bank’s efforts to strengthen partnerships with international export credit agencies, ensuring the safe and sustainable flow of essential raw materials and capital goods, and enhancing the efficiency of export activities by local enterprises, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The agreement was signed by Saad bin Abdulaziz Al-Khalb, CEO of the Saudi Export-Import Bank, and Edna Schone, board member of Euler Hermes Aktiengesellschaft and head of its Export Credit Agency.
Al-Khalb stated that the reinsurance agreement with ECA represents an important step in expanding credit risk management tools and enabling local exporters to obtain the production inputs and capital goods necessary to grow their businesses with greater confidence.
He noted that cooperation with international export credit agencies reflects the bank’s commitment to developing advanced insurance solutions that contribute to the growth of the Kingdom’s foreign trade, as part of its pivotal role in strengthening the non-oil national economy.
Through this agreement, the Saudi Export-Import Bank continues to support the growth of Saudi non-oil exports and expand its network of international partnerships, in alignment with the goals of Vision 2030 to diversify the national economy and enhance the Kingdom’s position in global trade.
