August 03, 2022
Financial information as of March 31, 2022 (Second semester 2021-2022)
The second half of 2021-2022 ended with an increase of +15.0% compared to the second half of 2020-2021.
2021-2022 product revenue stands at €37.2 million, up 18.1% compared to the previous financial year.
Unaudited data
TURNOVER
By market
| in millions of euros | Semester 2 | Variation vs Half-year 2 – 31/03/2021 | Accumulation | Change vs. 03/31/2021 | ||||
| 03/31/22 | Total change | Of which Organic | Of which Currency effect | 03/31/22 | Total change | Of which Organic | Of which Currency effect | |
| France | 3.0 | -4.7% | -4.7% | 0.0% | 4.8 | 3.5% | 3.5% | 0.0% |
| Europe controlled distribution (ex France) | 3.9 | 13.9% | 13.7% | 0.2% | 6.6 | 17.3% | 17.2% | 0.1% |
| Asia controlled distribution | 3.6 | -9.7% | -6.2% | -3.5% | 6.6 | 0.8% | 5.5% | -4.7% |
| Total controlled distribution | 10.5 | -0.5% | 0.8% | -1.2% | 18.1 | 7.0% | 8.8% | -1.8% |
| Agents & Distributors | 11.7 | 33.8% | 33.1% | 0.7% | 19.1 | 31.0% | 30.9% | 0.1% |
| Total Products | 22.1 | 15.0% | 15.4% | -0.4% | 37.2 | 18.1% | 19.1% | -0.9% |
Activity of the second half of the financial year (October to March 2022)
Compared to the second half of 2020-2021, Group Products revenue was up +15%, despite an unfavorable exchange rate effect of -0.4%.
Nevertheless, revenue is down -10.2% compared to the second half of 2019-2020.
Controlled distribution posted a decline of -0.5%, including an unfavorable exchange rate effect of -1.2%:
Subsidiaries in Asia are down -9.7%. Sanitary restrictions and the decrease in retail traffic in the second half sharply increased the decline in Hong Kong over the second half of the year (-23.5%).
The Europe excluding France zone, up +13.9%, continued its good performance in the first half.
France excluding the internet is up 5.9%. France internet sales are down -39% compared to the previous year.
Sales to Agents & Distributors continued to grow by 33.1% in H2 2021-2022, particularly in the United States, Korea, China and the United Kingdom.
Cumulative activity during the 2021-2022 financial year
Over the 2021-2022 financial yearGroup Products revenue increased by +€5.7 million or +18.1% compared to the previous year, despite an unfavorable exchange rate effect of -0.9% (i.e. a impact of -0.3 million euros).
However, compared to fiscal year 2019-2020, Group revenue is down -16.6%.
Controlled distribution is up +7.0% compared to 2020-2021 but down -11.3% compared to 2019-2020.
The good trend in the first half initiated in Japan and Hong Kong was largely slowed down by the decline in Hong Kong, penalized by the health situation. Japan’s growth cannot compensate for this decline.
The European subsidiaries are up by +14% on all markets, with new points of sale in Germany and Italy.
France rebounded by +3.5% compared to 2020-2021, despite the drop in activity caused by the closure of the La Vallée Village outlet store in February 2021.
Sales to Distributors and Agents were up +31% compared to 2020-2021, driven by growth in the United States, as well as recoveries in Korea, China and the United Kingdom.
By product line
| in millions of euros | Semester 2 | Variation vs Half-year 2 – 31/03/2021 | Accumulation | Change vs. 03/31/2021 | ||||
| 03/31/22 | Total change | Of which Organic | Of which Currency effect | 03/31/22 | Total change | Of which Organic | Of which Currency effect | |
| Lighters & pens | 15.3 | 17.1% | 17.5% | -0.4% | 25.8 | 27.1% | 28.2% | -1.1% |
| Leather goods, Accessories & PAP | 6.9 | 10.6% | 10.9% | -0.3% | 11.4 | 1.9% | 2.5% | -0.6% |
| Total Products | 22.1 | 15.0% | 15.4% | -0.4% | 37.2 | 18.1% | 19.1% | -0.9% |
At the end of the second semester, the Lighters & Pens family posted an increase of +17.1% compared to 2020-2021, mainly linked to the improvement in sales in the United States, Europe, China and Korea.
The Leather Goods, Accessories and Ready-to-Wear family grew by +10.6%.
Over the year 2021-2022sales of lighters and pens, up by +5.5 million euros or 27.1%, benefited from several campaigns, the launch of Space Odyssey limited edition and the continued success of the Cohiba partnership (55th anniversary).
Leather Goods, Belts and Ready-to-Wear fell by 3.9%, while Accessories were up 25% (cigar humidors, cigar cutters).
Outlook
The Group will celebrate its 150th anniversary in fiscal year 2022-23 by launching new limited editions. Nevertheless, the retail sales environment is very complicated in Asia with performance still heavily impacted by the COVID situation, while Europe is facing a high level of inflation and a possible recession which penalizes customer loyalty. The geopolitical situation is also negatively impacting the group’s performance in Russia by exerting increasing pressure on costs resulting from global supply problems. Inflation is another challenge the group will face in the 2022-23 financial year. Despite this, the group continues to work on its brand renewal project.
Financial information as of March 31, 2022 (Second semester 2021-2022)
