Aeffe still in red after first nine months of 2020

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Nov 12, 2020

The pandemic's impact is still making itself felt on Aeffe’s quarterly results. The Italian fashion group said it recorded “a satisfactory upturn in revenue in Q3, thanks to the order deliveries for the Fall/Winter 2020 collections.” However, in the first nine months of the year, Aeffe posted a 23.2% decline in sales, down to €206.7 million, and in Q3, results improved only in some of its markets.
 

Aeffe’s financial results turned negative in H2 and, as of September 30 2020, the group still posted a net loss of €12.5 million, compared to a net income of €13.2 million a year earlier. The adjusted net loss, taking into account the effects of the initial application of the IFRS 16 lease accounting method, was €7.4 million. Aeffe's EBITDA dropped by as much as 82%, from €46 million as of September 30 2019, to €8.1 million a year later, while adjusted EBITDA was €12.2 million.
 
In the period in question, Aeffe recorded declining sales for all of its market segments, brands, regions and sales channels. Only the group’s most directional labels stemmed the tide to some extent: the revenue for Moschino, which accounted for 79% of Aeffe’s total sales, lost 18% at constant exchange rates in the period, dropping to €163.3 million, while that of Philosophy by Lorenzo Serafini lost 22.3%. Instead, the revenue of footwear brand Pollini decreased by 38%, that of Alberta Ferretti by 40.8%, and the group's licensing business lost 58.7% in revenue.

Sales in Italy, the main market - with a share of 47.3% - for the group based in San Giovanni in Marignano, near Rimini, recorded a 21.8% slump. The rest of Europe lost 2.2%, though sales recovered strongly in the UK and Germany in Q3. In America, Aeffe’s sales dropped by 38.2%, and in Asia and the rest of the world by 41.7%.
 
As of September 30, Aeffe operated 60 directly owned stores and 148 franchised ones, for a total of 208 monobrand stores compared to 239 a year earlier. Retail sales accounted for 24% of the group's total, having lost 29.9% in the period, while those for the wholesale channel - which accounted for 72% of Aeffe’s revenue - dropped by 20.6%.