by winston » Tue Nov 25, 2014 7:36 am
not vested
Cosmetics chain sitting pretty
Interim net profit of L'Occitane International (0973) more than doubled to 37.3 million euros (HK$359 million) from a year earlier, driven by foreign currency gains.
For the six months to September 30, the French cosmetics group said [b]net profit soared 156.3 percent [/b]from a year back, mainly due to foreign currency gains of 8.9 million euros.
Earnings per share hit 2.5 euro cents. No interim dividend was declared. Net sales for the period jumped 8.9 percent to 485.9 million euros.
Sales growth of 11.9 percent at constant exchange rates was primarily driven by Japan, Hong Kong, the US and China. Brazil, the SAR, China and Russia were among the fastest growing, at 19.5 percent, 19.5 percent, 16.6 percent and 13.4 percent, respectively.
Overall same store sales growth was 6.1 percent from 0.9 percent a year earlier. Gross profit margin fell by 0.9 points to 80.3 percent for the period.
Operating profit climbed 46.6 percent to 31.4 million euros. The group said foreign currency gains or losses in the fiscal second half will largely depend on the market.
Executive director Andre Hoffmann said sales fell during the October 1 Golden Week from a year back due to the Occupy movements. "However, sales are recovering and will be strong in the upcoming holidays," he said.
L'Occitane shares fell 3 percent to HK$17.26 yesterday. The results were released after the market closed.
Source: The Standard HK
It's all about "how much you made when you were right" & "how little you lost when you were wrong"