Pandora is back to growth as 2022 starts well, US strong but China struggles

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Feb 10, 2022

Jewellery giant Pandora has reported “strong and broad-based growth” for Q4 and “12% sell-out growth” compared to the pre-pandemic 2019 final quarter.

The company also saw a “solid” Q4 EBIT margin of 29.7% driven by operating leverage.

Revenue at the Danish firm was DKK9.01 billion (€1.2bn/£1bn/$1.3bn) in the last quarter, up from DKK7.89 billion a year ago.

And it said that its online ops sustained their strong performance with 91% organic growth vs Q4 2019.

It added that the Moments platform continues to deliver strong results, including a successful Christmas collection, and the Pandora ME relaunch was “well received”, delivering 57% growth compared to the initial launch in 2019.

But the last quarter wasn’t perfect all over the world. While the US “remained strong with sell-out growth of 39% vs Q4 2019”, its performance in China was “unsatisfactory and negatively impacted by Covid-19”. Sell-out ‘growth’ actually went into reverse as it was down 39% against Q4 2019. But the firm continues to see “significant opportunities to grow in China”.

It also turned in full-year organic growth of 23% vs 2020 and an EBIT margin of 25%, both figures having exceeded earlier guidance.

The company expects its “sustainable and profitable” growth to continue and is forecasting “organic growth of 3%-6%” in 2022. That view is backed by the fact that “current trading remains solid” with “Pandora back on the growth track”. In fact, organic growth was 23% in January 2022, but the lockdowns of a year ago made it an easy comparison period.

CEO Alexander Lacik said: “We end 2021 on a high note with record-breaking revenue and sell-out in Q4, and I am pleased that we are able to increase our 2023 revenue target by around DKK2 billion. I am particularly pleased that our strong growth was broad-based across key markets. 

“Our investments in digital are clearly paying off, Moments is showing solid growth, and we are encouraged by the new product platforms Pandora ME and Brilliance. With this – and with network expansion accelerating in 2022 – I am confident that we have all the ingredients to deliver sustainable and profitable revenue growth in the years to come.”