Moncler sees double-digit sales and profit growth in 2013

MILAN, Italy - Italian quilted jacket maker Moncler said on Monday sales and profit grew at double-digit rates in 2013, supporting the growth prospects which drew strong demand for its December listing.

The company, founded as a skiwear maker in the French Alps in 1952, said sales rose to 580.6 million euros ($796.96 million) in the full year, growing in all its markets.

Net profit rose 17 percent to 92.1 million euros, the maker of 800-1,000 euro shiny padded jackets said.

"The results are in line with expectations on both top and bottom line - or just a very little bit above," said BNP Paribas analyst Luca Solca.

Revenue growth for the period was fastest in the Americas, at 44 percent at constant rates, closely followed by Asia, where its main market is Japan.

The weakness of the Japanese yen prompted Moncler to increase prices there by 8 percent, and it plans a further 4 percent hike for the spring, chief corporate officer Luciano Santel said on a conference call.

Moncler is trying to reduce the proportion of sales it makes in Italy, which stood at 23 percent at the end of last year. But even in its home market, struggling to emerge from recession, sales rose 2 percent.

North America and Japan continued to show "pretty strong performance" in the first weeks of this year, Santel said. The company did not give guidance for the rest of this year.

The retail division, which allows luxury companies direct control of their brands, fast outpaced Moncler's wholesale channel, rising 33 percent and 7 percent respectively.

Santel said the company opened nine stores in the last quarter alone, and was looking to open in 20 new locations in the coming year, including its first store in Moscow in the second quarter.

"We want a selective and controlled retail expansion," chief executive Remo Ruffini said on the conference call.

Like-for-like sales growth tempered slightly in the fourth quarter to between 10 and 11 percent, Santel said, adding this was due to a very high comparison base set in the previous year. For the full year, like-for-like sales rose 14 percent.

Moncler is highly reliant on the shiny padded jacket, which became a hot item under Ruffini's creative direction, but the company said its project of branching out into other product categories was going according to plan.

"Knitwear and shoes ... are very close to Moncler DNA," said Ruffini.

Shares in Moncler rose 1.16 percent on Milan's bourse on Monday to close at 14.85 euros, reversing some of the losses it has made since soaring more than 60 percent between its market debut and January 3.

$1 = 0.7285 euros