The Italian luxury goods group Prada reported on Thursday a 1% increase in underlying revenue in the third quarter. The figure broadly met market expectations and demonstrated the company’s resilience as many competitors reported declining sales during a record-hot summer, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
Details
The underlying revenue growth figure excludes the Versace brand, which Prada acquired in December last year. The group said the integration of the brand was proceeding "on schedule" ahead of the presentation of the first collection by new creative director Pieter Mulier, which is scheduled for next year.
Prada CEO Andrea Guerra said during a conference call with analysts that extreme weather conditions were the main reason for lower store footfall.
According to Guerra, sales of clothing from the autumn-winter collections were significantly delayed during the quarter; demand began to pick up only in the last two or three weeks.
His comment on the impact of unusually warm weather on revenue echoed a statement made by Moncler management on Wednesday.
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Including Versace, the group’s revenue for the quarter amounted to €1.49 billion ($1.67 billion), up 11% from the same period last year and in line with the consensus forecast of Visible Alpha analysts.
The result was driven by continued growth in North and South America, although at a slower pace than in the previous quarter.
The company said sales in the Asia-Pacific region remained stable: weak performance in mainland China was offset by positive trends in other parts of the region.
Revenue in Europe remained at a low level.
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The Miu Miu brand—the group’s smaller division, which accounted for the bulk of consolidated revenue growth—reported a quarterly decline in sales for the first time since the pandemic. Miu Miu’s retail sales fell 3% for the quarter.
"The third quarter took place against a backdrop of particularly challenging conditions in the industry. In these circumstances, the group demonstrated good resilience," Andrea Guerra said in his statement.
In response to a question about longstanding plans for an additional listing of shares in Milan, Chief Financial Officer Andrea Bonini said that Prada currently had no news on the matter. "It is an option worth considering from time to time, but at present we have no news to share," Bonini told analysts.