Eyewear group Safilo has reported net sales of €282.6 million in the first quarter of 2022, up by +8.4% at constant exchange rates (+12.4% at current exchange rates) year-on-year. Adjusted EBITDA grew by +23.8% to €32 million with adjusted EBITDA margin increasing to 11.3% from 10.3% a year earlier.
Organic sales climbed by double-digits (+14.3%) at constant exchange rates, led by the performance of Safilo’s own brands Smith and Carrera and by an encouraging start to the year for Polaroid.
In the licensed portfolio, Tommy Hilfiger, Kate Spade and Hugo Boss maintained “a strong pace of growth”, while newer licences for David Beckham, Missoni, Isabel Marant and Under Armour “gaining further momentum” in their reference markets, said the company in a statement.
Safilo CEO Angelo Trocchia said: “The period confirmed once more the strength of our own and licensed brands which continued to show their ability to grow at a healthy pace in their core product categories and markets.
“We saw an encouraging pick-up in demand in Europe and continued progress in some of our key emerging markets in Latin America and the Middle East, while North America remained a stronghold despite a tough comparison basis, both in our traditional wholesale channels and in the online business.
“Despite the challenges deriving from the developments of the Covid-19 pandemic, inflationary pressures and the conflict in Ukraine, we remain confident that the resilience of the eyewear sector and the effectiveness of our strategy will continue to support the group’s sales and margin growth also in 2022.”
