Italian luxury brand Ferragamo swung to a net profit for the first half, after growing sales by 4.6% at constant currencies in the second quarter, with turnaround efforts particularly evident in the performance of directly owned shops.
Ferragamo, which has been operating without a permanent chief executive for more than a year, said a bigger share of those people walking around its shops had made a purchase, with an increase both in full-price sales and in the average price and number of items sold.
Direct sales to customers rose 6.6% at constant currencies in the April-June period, it said.
Group revenue totaled €259 million ($298 million), up 2.4% year-on-year when taking into account foreign exchange rates.
The Florentine group posted a net profit of €1.5 million for the first half, compared with an adjusted loss of €16 million in the same period a year ago.
Its core profit improved almost by a quarter to €90 million from a year earlier thanks to strict cost control.
