(News Bulletin 247) – The specialist in licensed perfumes saw its profit and operating income jump by more than 40% over the first six months of the year. But a slowdown in certain markets leads the group to exercise caution for the second part of 2023.

“A high-flying first semester”. This is how TP ICAP Midcap describes the Interparfums publication. The specialist in licensed perfumes such as Jimmy Choo, Montblanc, Coach and Lacoste (and under own brands for Lanvin and Rochas) has indeed delivered very clearly improved accounts over the first six months of the year.

Already published at the end of July, the company’s turnover stood at 396.3 million euros, an increase of 24.3% over one year. The group was driven by its “blockbusters”, namely Montblanc (+24%), Jimmy Choo (+44%) and Coach (+27%). These three fragrances represent approximately 75% of the company’s sales over the half-year.

Further in the income statement, the group announced that it had recorded an operating profit of 102.2 million euros, an increase of 42% over one year.

The corresponding margin stood at 25.8% compared to 22.5% in the first half of 2022, reaching a record.

Towards a slowdown in the second half

The strong increase in operating profit is explained in particular by “good control of marketing and advertising expenses” and by the slight increase in fixed costs, the company indicated.

The company’s net profit stood at 77.6 million euros, up 43% year-on-year.

“We achieved an excellent performance in the first half. The slowdown observed in the market since the summer nevertheless encourages us to be cautious in the second,” declared Philippe Benacin, the group’s CEO in a press release.

The manager confirmed the company’s turnover target for 2023, namely 800 million euros. According to TP ICAP Midcap, this target implies a slowdown in growth in the second half of the year to around 4-5%.

The deputy general manager, Phillipe Santi, warned that the operating margin should reach between 18% and 19% over the entire financial year “if our media investments are, like in previous years, much greater on the second part of the year. According to TP ICAP Midcap, the consensus forecast for 2023 a margin of 19.3%.

This may explain the small drop in Interparfums shares, which fell by 1.32% around 4:50 p.m.

This margin objective, which is lower than expected, must nevertheless “be put into perspective with the historical prudence of management which tends to be cautious about these objectives which are regularly raised and exceeded”, tempers Invest Securities.