(Finance) – Safilo has registered preliminary net sales of € 969.6 million in 2021up 26.3% at constant exchange rates (+ 24.3% at current exchange rates) compared to the 780.3 million euros recorded in 2020 and 7.5% at constant exchange rates (+ 3.3% at current exchange rates ) compared to the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. “Le organic sales represented the main growth driver “(+ 10% at constant exchange rates compared to 2019), while the strategy of turnaround of the brand portfolio allowed “effective compensation of the decline in business deriving from licenses terminated at the end of 2020 and at the end of June 2021 through the inclusion in the portfolio of new proprietary and licensed brands”, underlines the company listed on Euronext Milan and active in the creation, production and distribution of eyeglasses and sunglasses.
On a preliminary basis, Safilo closed 2021 with a adjusted EBITDA margin 8.7%, recovering from the break-even recorded in 2020 and an improvement of 170 basis points compared to the 7% margin recorded in 2019. As of 31 December 2021 net financial debt decreased to approximately 94 million euros compared to the position of 222.1 million euros in 2020. The reduction was made possible thanks to thecapital increase successfully concluded in early November 2021, the company highlights.
In 2021, the share of sales made in online channels amounted to 13.4% of the group’s total business, up from 12.7% in 2020 and 3.9% in 2019. In the fourth quarter 2021net sales amounted to 232.2 million euros, substantially stable compared to the same period of 2020 (-0.7% at constant exchange rates and + 2.9% at current exchange rates) and an improvement of 3.8% at constant exchange rates and 0.8% at current exchange rates compared to the last quarter of 2019. This is thanks to the double-digit growth achieved by most of the group’s main brands, from Carrera and Kate Spade to Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss.