French luxury giant Kering SA yesterday said that its sales and net profit fell last year, warning its investment strategy would weigh on results this year as it refocuses its business around its flagship brand Gucci.
Kering, whose other houses include Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta, reported a 17 percent annual drop in net profit to 2.98 billion euros ($3.2 billion).
Sales retreated four percent to 19.57 billion euros, it said.
Photo: Bloomberg
“In a trying year for the group, we strengthened our organization and took significant steps to further enhance the visibility and exclusivity of our Houses,” Kering chief executive officer Francois-Henri Pinault said in an earnings statement.
“We are focused on revitalising Gucci, leveraging the unique blend of craftsmanship, Italian heritage and modernity that characterizes this iconic House,” he said.
At Gucci, a brand famous for its leather handbags, sales dropped six percent to 9.9 billion euros — accounting for half of Kering’s revenue.
Creations by Gucci’s new creative director Sabato de Sarno, who was appointed in January last year, are to go on sale in the coming weeks, Kering chief financial officer Armelle Poulou said.
Kering also changed Gucci’s management last year, appointing deputy CEO and Pinault confidant Jean-Francois Palus to replace Marco Bizzarri, who had led the brand since 2015.
Among other brands, Yves Saint Laurent sales were down four percent at 3.18 billion euros last year while Bottega Veneta slumped five percent to 1.6 billion euros.
Looking ahead, Kering warned that its investment strategy would weigh on the group’s full-year operating income.
“In a market environment that remains uncertain in early 2024, our continuing investments in our Houses will put pressure on our results in the short term,” Pinault said.
The company also cited “ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainty.”
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
RSS