Calida posts jump in sales and profit

Calida Group hailed its progress in 2019, announcing a 1.7% uplift in consolidated net sales to CHF 404.3 million (€381.5m), when adjusted for changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Ecommerce sales were up 20.2% year-on-year to CHF 50.9 million (€48m), accounting for 12.6% of total sales.

Reiner Pichler, group CEO, said: “We were quick to recognise the evolving market dynamics and defined corresponding strategic priorities, which apply to all the brands of the group and have been systematically implemented. Combined with the tireless efforts of our employees, I believe this to be one of the main reasons for the encouraging growth in revenue and earnings across all brands.”

EBIT profits increased 9% to CHF 23.6 million (€22.3m), while EBIT margin improved slightly from 5.3% to 5.8%. Gross profit margin also improved by 60 basis points.

The equity ratio stood at 59.4%, compared to 58.8% a year earlier. Operating cash flow showed positive results, up by 84% from CHF 23 million (€21.7m) to CHF 42.4 million (€40m).

During the year, 84% of sales took place outside of Switzerland. Germany, Austria, France and Europe remain a main priority in terms of expansion and market development, while Japan is offering interesting opportunities for the Millet Mountain Group, the group said.

In October, Calida reached an agreement with Echiquier Value Euro and Echiquier Excelsior to acquire a 4.14% stake in Lafuma SA. This took the group’s shareholding in the French outdoor clothing group to 91.83% by the end of the year.

This 2020, Calida upped its investment in Lafuma SA by acquiring a further 1.66% of shares of Karakoram SAS, taking its total stake in the business to 93.5%.

But it’s not all about investing in new brands; Calida wants to streamline its brand portfolio. And this meant the sale of the Eider brand, owned by Millet Mountain, to South Korea’s K2 Group in January. Additionally, the group has received an offer from Rainbow SAS to sell its Oxbow brand, owned by Lafuma. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2020.

“With this transaction, the Calida Group systematically continues its focus strategy for its brand portfolio. The aim is to exploit the synergy potential between the brands under the umbrella of the Calida Group,” said the company in a statement.

“The groundwork has been laid to meet the challenges ahead and also to further improve the like-for-like sales and profitability of the group in the current fiscal year. This will take the group a step nearer to its goal of reaching an EBIT margin of 8 percent in the medium term.”

Calida posts jump in sales and profit

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