Safilo witnesses business rebound, expects to break even in FY20

Safilo’s preliminary 2020 net sales equalled 780.3 million euros, down 15.2 percent at constant exchange rates and 16.9 percent at current exchange rates, due to the sharp decline suffered in the first half of the year following the severe lockdowns put in place by governments on a global scale to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. The company said, in the second semester of 2020, Safilo’s net sales grew by 4.5 percent at constant exchange rates, due to the business rebound recorded in the third quarter and the sales increase achieved by the group also in the fourth quarter, despite the negative impacts of the second pandemic wave.

Fourth quarter net sales amounted to 225.6 million euros, up 3 percent at constant exchange rates and down 2.1 percent at current exchange rates. The positive sales performance, Safilo added, reflected the progressive improvement of the wholesale business, which in Q4 recorded a 1.6 percent decline at constant exchange rates, from 5.5 drop in Q3, while the acquisitions of Privé Revaux and Blenders Eyewear added a total of 14.1 million euros to the group’s North American business.

Safilo posts rebound in Q4 sales results

The company said main drivers of the group’s Q4 net sales performance were the resilience of the North American wholesale business, up 8.9 percent on an organic basis excluding the acquisitions and at constant exchange rates. Q4 total sales in North America were up 27 percent at constant exchange rates and 19.2 percent at current exchange rates with the contribution of Privé Revaux and Blenders Eyewear.

The still challenging trading conditions in Europe, resulted in net sales decline of 18 percent at constant exchange rates and down 16 percent for the wholesale business and 19.4 percent at current exchange rates, while there was a business rebound in Asia Pacific, with the quarterly sales up 28.1 percent at constant exchange rates and 24.1 percent at current exchange rates, from a drop of 6.4 percent in Q3 2020. In the Rest of the World, sales were down 6.5 percent at constant exchange rates and 19.7 percent at current exchange rates, driven by the positive performance in the quarter of Brazil and Mexico and the first signs of a recovery materializing also in the Middle East countries.

Safilo expects to report return to break even

Safilo’s organic business declined 21.9 percent at constant exchange rates and 21.5 percent for the wholesale business, while the contribution of the acquisitions accounted for 61.8 million euros for the full period of consolidation. In 2020, Blenders Eyewear and Privé Revaux grew together 66 percent on a pro-forma performance basis.

In 2020, Safilo’s online sales, including acquisitions, accounted for around 13 percent of the Group’s total net sales, from around 4 percent in 2019. Net sales performance in the fourth quarter allowed the Group to continue the recovery of earnings, which began in the third quarter. In value terms, the positive adjusted EBITDA achieved by Safilo in the second half of the year is thus expected to fully offset the significant loss suffered in the first half, allowing the Group to return to break-even in the full year.

Picture:Facebook/Privé Revaux