It Holding approves consolidated figures for first half
Yesterday the Board of Directors of It Holding approved the Group's results at June 30, 2004.
On a like-for-like basis (i.e. not considering revenues from the perfume division, which was sold in January 2004, or revenues from the Romeo Gigli and Gentryportofino brands, which were sold in April 2004) consolidated net revenues were up 13.0% to € 350.6 million. Considering also constant exchange rates, net revenues were up 14,5%, while taking into account the new consolidation area and at current exchange rates, consolidated net revenues grew 9.9%.
The excellent results of the Ferré brand bear witness to the conclusion of our turnaround, and prove that all Ferré products sell well on the market. Ferré net sales were up 16.2% to € 61.9 million.
Profitability also performed well, with Ebitda up 12.0% to € 44.7 million, higher than consolidated revenues, demonstrating the Group's recovery of efficiency. Ebit as a percentage of consolidated net revenues rose more than a percentage point, from 5.4% to 6.5%, coming in at € 22.8 million, following the reduced amortization of intangible assets due to write-downs in the 2003 financial statements.
Lastly, the slight drop in financial charges helped boost pre-tax income over the € 20.0 million mark, showing a sharp improvement on pre-tax income of € 0.9 million for the half year ended June 30, 2003. The consolidated financial position is in line with March 31, 2004, at € 288.7 million.
The ready-to-wear and accessories division grew 9.9%, mainly due to the success of Ferré collections. The eyewear division performed extremely well, with the subsidiary Allison reporting net revenues of € 44.5 million, up 52.9%, given the excellent performance of the Ferré lines and the launch of new collections.
In both absolute and percentage terms, the increase in revenues from Ferré products was exceptional. They rose to € 61.9 million, or 17.7% as a percentage of consolidated net revenues (while other owned brands remained substantially steady).
The excellent performance of sales in the Group's main sales area - Italy - continued, with revenues up 20.6% to € 152.5 million, representing 43.5% of total revenues. The Group's hold on America was strong, slipping only 1.9% with the dollar depreciating against the euro by an average of 11.4% since June 30, 2003. It recovered well in the Far East and Japan, with revenues of € 24.7 million, rising from 4.0% to 7.0% of total revenues.
In terms of distribution, revenues increased both through the retail and wholesale channels.
'The figures we have just approved give us faith in the months ahead', announced Chairman and CEO Tonino Perna. 'There are a multitude of positive signs for the future. Revenues have grown in all business areas and profit margins have been rising more than proportionately to net revenues, since we have been working in this direction since the beginning of the year. This growth confirms the Group's significant progress in terms of efficiency and synergies'.
