New product launches drive strong sales gains for Inter Perfums
The company said that net sales grew by 6.0% to reach $134.2m, which represented an increase of 5.1% when taking into consideration positive currency translations.
Breaking the figures down, its European operations grew sales by 5.7% to $103.4m, while US sales grew by 6.9% to $28.7m.
The gain in sales also translated into a significant growth in profits, which were up from $7.9m in the corresponding period last year, to reach $11.1m, while the operating margin for net sales increased from 11.6% to 13.9%.
New product launches drive results
“New product launches and the continued popularity of many of our established scents produced the 6.0% increase in third quarter sales, especially our three largest," said Jean Madar, Inter Parfums CEO.
Madar noted that sales of its Jimmy Choo branded products had been particularly strong, which thanks to the launch of a new women’s signature scent, saw dedicated brand sales grow by 23% during the quarter.
Likewise, the company said that Montblanc sales also showed strong gains, growing 10% in the last quarter and around 40% during the course of the first nine months of the financial year.
All geographies see gains
“We have seen strength in our business in nearly all geographic markets this year. Net sales of ongoing brands in Western Europe and North America, our two largest markets, were up 17% and 13%, respectively,” said Madar.
“Sales in Central and South America came in nearly 48% ahead and in the Middle East, they were up 20%. While Asian sales improved modestly through the first three quarters, Eastern Europe, which represents a small portion of our business, was the only down market for the first nine months of this year, primarily reflecting a difficult Russian market and its depreciating currency.”
Outlook is positive, despite headwinds
The company says that, despite the continued strength of the US dollar against the Euro, it still remains positive about its earlier guidance for the full financial year.
Assuming the dollar exchange rate remains at current levels, the company says that full year net sales should reach $495m, representing a 15% increase from ongoing brands, a figure that excludes any Burberry sales in the previous financial year.
