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
Oman’s MSX leads GCC equity markets in 2025: Kamco Invest
RIYADH: Oman’s Muscat Securities Market emerged as the best-performing index in the Gulf Cooperation Council region in 2025, rising 28.2 percent year on year, according to an analysis by Kamco Invest.
In its latest report, the financial firm said the MSX 30 Index closed the year at 5,866.8 points, marking one of the strongest annual performances among GCC markets.
According to the analysis, the index reached its annual peak at 5,985.66 points in mid-December, while its lowest level was 4,223.83 points in early April, reflecting a 38.9 percent recovery from the year’s trough.
Developing a robust capital market ecosystem remains crucial for GCC countries as they pursue economic diversification efforts to reduce dependence on oil revenues.
“The aggregate MSCI GCC index reported a gain of 1.6 percent during the year despite largely positive performance at the country level. At the exchange level, Oman witnessed the biggest gains during the year with a double-digit surge of 28.2 percent,” said Kamco Invest.
The report added that Boursa Kuwait ranked as the second-best-performing market in the GCC, posting gains of 21.2 percent during the year.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange advanced 6.1 percent, while the Dubai Financial Market climbed 17.2 percent, supported by selective strength in real estate and services stocks.
The Qatar Exchange recorded a marginal increase of 1.8 percent, while the Bahrain Bourse rose 4.1 percent in 2025.
Despite a 12.8 percent decline, Saudi Arabia dominated regional listings activity during 2025.
The Kingdom saw 13 companies debut on the Tadawul All Share Index, along with two transfers from the parallel Nomu market to the main market. In addition, 28 companies were listed on the Nomu market.
Flynas was Saudi Arabia’s largest initial public offering in 2025, raising SR4.1 billion ($1.1 billion) in one of the region’s biggest aviation listings.
Other notable IPOs during the year included Umm Al Qura for Development & Construction Co., Specialized Medical Co., Derayah Financial Co., and Dar Al Majed Real Estate Co.
“At the sector level, the yearly performance (in the region) was skewed toward decliners with over 30 percent fall in Utilities, Insurance and Consumer Durable indices. On the gainers side, Telecom, Banks and Diversified Financials indices showed double gains that offset the overall weakness,” added Kamco Invest.
