Weak growth for Interparfums in Q2

In the second quarter of the 2018 financial year, fragrance design and distribution specialist Interparfums (operating among others the Montblanc, Coach and Boucheron licences) recorded a revenue of €97 million, compared to €96.9 million a year earlier. The stagnation in Interparfums’s business was due to the adverse impact of exchange rate fluctuations and a lack of major new product launches.

In the period in question, sales for the leader of Interparfums’s brand portfolio, Montblanc, lost 16.4%, reaching €22.9 million, while the Jimmy Choo fragrances, the group’s number two in terms of revenue, recorded flat sales at €23 million. Conversely, Coach fragrances, whose licence was acquired by Interparfums in April 2015, posted remarkable growth, with sales worth €15 million compared to €8.2 million in the same period last year. After a troubled period, the Karl Lagerfeld fragrances too were back on the growth track. Thanks to the launch of the Les Parfums Matières collection, the brand’s sales increased by just over 100% in the period in question, reaching €2 million.

In the first six months of 2018, Interparfums grew its revenue by 4.5%, reaching €218.7 million (+11% at constant exchange rates). The group performed well in most of its geographical regions - with Asia-Pacific up 9% and North America up 8% - except for Western Europe, where revenue was slightly down year on year, owing to unfavourable terms of comparison, since the majority of Interparfums product launches in Europe took place in the first half of 2017.

“Though the trend in the euro-dollar exchange rate has impacted negatively on growth, this should not affect the group’s profitability in the first half of 2108. Operating margin is therefore expected to be above 15%, as in the first half of 2017, and should range between 13 and 13.5% for the whole of the 2018 financial year,” said Philippe Santi, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Interparfums.

The group recently renewed the licence contract for the Van Cleef & Arpels fragrances for another 6 years, until December 31 2024.

Interparfums will publish its official H1 results on September 6, and is forecasting a revenue of €430 million for the full 2018 financial year.

Weak growth for Interparfums in Q2

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