Press ReleaseMay 14, 2007
17.8 M€ for the 4TH Quarter and 76.5 M€ for the whole year
Sales variation compared to last year
Including exchange rates :
-22.2 % for the 4th quarter
- 8.8% for the whole year
Excluding exchange rates :
-18.6% for the 4th quarter
- 6.0% for the whole year
S.T. DUPONT REPORTS THE SIGNATURE OF A NEW CONTRACT WITH MERCURY REGARDING ITS OPERATIONS IN RUSSIA
1. SALES by geographical areas
| Euros millions | Quarter 4 | Year to date | ||||
| Actual | Last year | Variation | Actual | Last year | Variation | |
| Europe | 6.0 | 7.6 | -21.3% | 29.3 | 33.0 | -11.0% |
| Asia | 9.3 | 10.9 | -15.1% | 34.9 | 37.8 | -7.8% |
| Americas | 0.3 | 0.7 | -56.7% | 3.2 | 3.5 | -6.6% |
| Other | 1.0 | 0.8 | +28.5% | 4.0 | 3.5 | 11.9% |
| Total Products | 16.6 | 20.0 | -17.3% | 71.4 | 77.8 | -8.2% |
| Royalties | 1.2 | 2.8 | -57.3% | 5.1 | 6.0 | -15.5% |
| Total Sales | 17.8 | 22.8 | -22.2% | 76.5 | 83.8 | -8.8% |
Impact of exchange rates is quite material: -2.8% (YTD) and -3.6% (Q4) due to the high level of the Euro vs. US$ and JPNY.
Sales for the quarter have been impacted by the following elements:
- The cancellation of the contract with our Russian agent led to a significant decrease in sales for this quarter as he was not allowed to sell any ST Dupont products after March 31, 2007.
- On the other hand, the new contract for Russia will actually start early may. Thus, there were no sales to this new agent in Q4.
- The importance of wholesale in the Japanese market is very high. Thus, any postponing of order has a major impact on our Japanese subsidiary sales. Our manufacturing constraints led to a postponing of deliveries (mostly in lighters) to the next quarter.
- Regarding royalties, there were some non recurring items in Q4 2005-2006 due to the renewal of our contract for perfumes and the adjustment of last year royalties for our glasses licensee. Excluding these items, royalties increase by +6% on average excluding exchange rates impact.
For the whole year, sales decreased by -8.8% (-6.0% excluding exchange rate impact)
2. SALES BY PRODUCT LINE
| Quarter 4 | Year to date | |||||
| euros millions | Actual | Last year | Variation | Actual | Last year | Variation |
| Lighters & writing instruments | 7.2 | 10.4 | -31.8% | 37.0 | 42.2 | -12.4% |
| Leathergoods & RTW | 7.5 | 7.6 | -1.3% | 26.7 | 27.5 | -3.0% |
| Others | 1.9 | 2.0 | -2.2% | 7.7 | 8.0 | -4.4% |
| Total Products | 16.6 | 20.0 | -17.3% | 71.4 | 77.8 | -8.2% |
In Q4, sales for lighters are significantly decreasing due to the impact of the social plan implementation in the plant and the change of the manufacturing process from a product line to a craft line in order to improve the productivity in a very near future. This led to a decrease in the manufacturing capacity that could not be compensated through inventories as the level was low.
Writing instruments are also decreasing, mostly because of the decrease in the business gift segment where margins are lower.
Excluding exchange rates impact, leather goods and ready to wear are increasing (+3.5% in Q4) but are impacted by the changes in currency rates as major markets are in US$ and CHF (Russia & Asia).
3. OTHER INFORMATIONS
Early May 2007, ST Dupont signed a contract with a new agent for its operation in Russia. The new agent is Mercury that is already distributing numerous luxury brands in Russia and has a strong presence in Moscow and other Russian large cities.
Through this new contract, ST Dupont anticipates a strong growth of its sales in this country that shows a very high potential in the luxury business.
Mercury plan to open 3 boutiques and 10 corners in the coming year and has a strong development plan for the next 3 years.
Contacts :
- Contact Analysts:
Michel Suhard
msuhard@st-dupont.com
- Contact Press:
Burson-Marsteller
Frédéric Paillet
+33 (1) 41 86 76 54
frederic.paillet@bm.com