Profits boom for Prada

Record-breaking first half of the year for Prada, which is accelerating toward achieving its medium-term targets. In the half-year ended on June 30, the group posted revenues of 1.9 billion euros, up by 22% from the same six-months period in 2021, with retail sales, which account for 90% of the total, amounting to 1.67 billion euros (+26%). In terms of brands, Prada's strong appreciation generated 28% growth over 2021 and 46% growth over 2019, while Miu Miu's high visibility and the success of the spring-summer 2022 runway show contributed to an annual sales increase of 14%, with results above pre-Covid-19 levels.

Important growth in e-commerce was also confirmed. However, the wholesale channel went down by 3%, with 194 million euros in revenues. «The enrichment of the offer and the improvement of the operating efficiency allowed us to reach a gross profit of 1.47 billion euros with a margin of 77.7% and an adjusted ebit of 331 million euros with a margin of 17.4%», cfo Andrea Bonini explained during a conference call. Net income increased, up from 97 million euros in the first half of 2021 to the current 188 million euros. The net financial position was a positive 179 million euros. Excellent performance was recorded by all product categories, thus leather goods (+18%), ready-to-wear (+32%) and footwear (+39%).

«In the first half of 2022, Prada group grew both in profits and margins, investing more and more in creativity, industrial know-how and product innovation, with a long-term development prospective», ceo Patrizio Bertelli stated. «Thanks to our global presence, we have more than compensated the effect of China’s lockdowns and Russia’s sanctions. Our results for July remain quite positive, but the international political and economic landscape is uncertain, and it forces us to be wary. However, we confidently keep following our business strategy to fully exploit our brands’ potential. We trust to achieve the medium-term financial and operational goals we have set».

On a geographic level, most of the sales were concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region, where 590 million euros were recorded. Since the middle of March, about 30% of the group’s stores in China was closed due to the succession of various lockdowns. The flexion in profits of the entire region amounted to 7% compared to the first half of 2021. This effect was mitigated by highly positive performances in Korea and Southeast Asia. China still registered a growing trend following the re-openings in June. Europe grew by 89% thanks to local consumptions and the return of tourist flows starting from the second quarter, which made the profits skyrocket to 486 million euros. American sales performance was outstanding (+41%) and amounted to 360 million euros, a triple-digit improvement if compared to the pre-Covid-19 period. (all rights reserved)