Inter Parfums results down for all-important holiday quarter

27-Jan-2016 - Last updated on 27-Jan-2016 at 17:17 GMT

Fragrance player Inter Parfums has announced that its fourth quarter results were down on the back of negative currency translations during a period when it usually has its strongest sales.

The New York-based company derives around 80% of its sales from Europe, which explains why it was significantly impacted by currency translations against a strong US dollar.

The results showed that revenues for the quarter were down by 5.5% to $118.2m, compared to a figure of $125.1m in the corresponding period last year.

Revenues hit by the strong US dollar

Taking currency translations into consideration, the 5.5% decline in sales translated into a positive increase of 1.5% for organic sales.

Breaking the figures down geographically, sales for the European business were $88.2m, compared to a figure of $93.6m in the corresponding period last year, whereas sales in the US market were $29.7m, compared to a figure of $31.5m.

For the full financial year 2015, overall sales were down 6.2% to $488.2m, compared to a figure of $499.3m for the full financial year 2014.

“As was the case for the first nine months of 2015, the strength of the U.S. dollar versus the euro continued to impact the sales growth achieved in the final quarter of the year,” said Jean Madar, Chairman & CEO of Inter Parfums.

Montblanc and Jimmy Choo sales hit hard

Madar went on to highlight how sales for one of its biggest brands, Montblanc, were up 4% in local currency, while being down 9% in dollar terms, while an even bigger impact was seen with Jimmy Choo sales, which rose 16% in local currency, but were only up 1% in US dollars.

Drilling down on the brand performance, the company said that Montblanc brand sales benefited from both established scents, such as Legend and Emblem along with initial sales for the new Lady Emblem line.

“For the full year, sales for our European based operations were ahead across most regions,” Madar added.

“Our three largest markets, North America, Western Europe and Asia turned in local currency sales growth of 25%, 10% and 3%, and we also achieved top line growth in smaller markets such as Middle East and Eastern Europe. Not surprisingly, with the economic situation in Brazil, sales in South America were down sharply in 2015.”

Meanwhile, the company said that in the US Dunhill sales were up 9% for the quarter, and 37% for the full year, but those gains were counterbalanced by a fall in sales of Anna Sui fragrances, mainly on account of the slowdown in China.