Prada Revenues Rise Despite Struggles in Americas

People walk past a Prada store in Brussels, Belgium September 5, 2023. (Reuters)
People walk past a Prada store in Brussels, Belgium September 5, 2023. (Reuters)
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Prada Revenues Rise Despite Struggles in Americas

People walk past a Prada store in Brussels, Belgium September 5, 2023. (Reuters)
People walk past a Prada store in Brussels, Belgium September 5, 2023. (Reuters)

Italian fashion group Prada reported a 10% rise in third quarter revenues on Tuesday as a strong performance in Asia and Europe helped to compensate for weakness in the Americas.

The revenue growth came in just ahead of analysts' expectations of a 9.3% rise, according to a consensus cited by Jefferies.

For the first nine months of the year net revenues totaled 3.34 billion euros ($3.6 billion), up 17% at constant exchange rates, with the ready-to-wear category showing the fastest growth and the Miu Miu brand also expanding rapidly.

"We continue to see positive momentum in the business and strong excitement around our brands, positioning us well for Q4 and vis-à-vis our ambition to deliver solid, sustainable, and above-market growth in 2023," Chief Executive Andrea Guerra said.

Guerra told a subsequent conference call that he was also happy with the way October had gone, noting that November and December were more important months for business.

Prada's rivals in the luxury sector such as Kering, owner of the Gucci brand, have also been hit by slowing demand for fashion and accessories, particularly in the United States and Europe.

The Americas region was a weak spot for Prada where retail sales fell 1.3% over the nine months, offset by double digit growth in the Asia Pacific, Japan and European markets.

Guerra said Prada and Miu Miu had raised prices by 4-6% this year and that trend was likely to be similar in 2024.

He added the company was aware of tensions in major cities in recent weeks linked to the conflict between Hamas and Israel but that had not translated into a major impact on business.

"For sure, in some cities of the world, in the past weeks we have seen a little bit more tension driven by macro, geo-political happenings. But I would say that so far we have not seen basic differences," he said.

Prada, whose brands also include classic English shoemaker Church's, is listed on the Hong Kong stock market and released its figures after the market closed on Tuesday.



LVMH Shares Drop after Missing Second-quarter Estimates

A man walks past a shop of fashion house Dior in Paris, France, April 15, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A man walks past a shop of fashion house Dior in Paris, France, April 15, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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LVMH Shares Drop after Missing Second-quarter Estimates

A man walks past a shop of fashion house Dior in Paris, France, April 15, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A man walks past a shop of fashion house Dior in Paris, France, April 15, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Shares in LVMH (LVMH.PA) fell as much as 6.5% in early Wednesday trade and were on track for their biggest one-day drop since October 2023 after second-quarter sales growth at the French luxury goods giant missed analysts' consensus estimate.

The world's biggest luxury group said late Tuesday its quarterly sales rose 1% year on year to 20.98 billion euros ($22.76 billion), undershooting the 21.6 billion expected on average by analysts polled by LSEG.

At 1000 GMT, LVMH's shares were down 4.5%.

The earnings miss weighed on other luxury stocks, with Hermes (HRMS.PA), down around 2% and Kering (PRTP.PA), off 3%.

Kering is scheduled to report second-quarter sales after the market close and Hermes reports on Thursday, Reuters reported.

Jittery investors are looking for evidence that the industry will pick up from a recent slowdown, as inflation-hit shoppers hold off from splashing out on designer fashion.

JPMorgan analyst Chiara Battistini cut full year profit forecasts by 2-3% for the group, citing softer trends at LVMH's fashion and leather goods division, home to Louis Vuitton and Dior.

"The soft print is likely to add to ongoing investors’ concerns on the sector more broadly in our view, confirming that even best-in-class players like LVMH cannot be immune from the challenging backdrop," said Battistini in a note to clients.

The weakness of the yen, which has prompted a flood of Chinese shoppers to Japan seeking bargains on luxury goods, added pressure to margins, another source of concern.

Equita cut 2024 sales estimates for LVMH by 3% - attributing 1% to currency fluctuations - and lowered its second half organic sales estimate to 7% growth from 10% growth previously.

The lack of visibility for the second half beyond the easing of comparative figures - as the Chinese post-pandemic lockdown bounce tapered off a year ago - is unlikely to improve investor sentiment to the luxury sector, Citi analyst Thomas Chauvet said in an email to clients.

"No miracle with the luxury bellwether; sector likely to remain out of favour," he wrote.

Jefferies analysts said the miss came as investors eye Chinese shoppers for their potential to "resume their pre-COVID role as the locomotive of industry growth and debate when Western consumers will have fully digested their COVID overspend".

LVMH shares have been volatile since the luxury slowdown emerged, and are down about 20% over the past year, with middle-class shoppers in China, the world's No. 2 economy, a key focus as they rein in purchases at home amid a property slump and job insecurity.

LVMH offered some reassurance, with finance chief Jean-Jacques Guiony telling analysts during a call on Tuesday that Chinese customers were "holding up quite well," while business with US and European customers was "slightly better".