Strong performance in licensed business
The licensed business grew a strong 19.1 percent to €134 million in Q2, and 26.7 percent after six months to €276 million. A particularly strong performance in the Asian region contributed to the high double-digit growth. As a consequence, royalty and commission income was up 28.7 percent to €13.8 million in Q2 and 20.5 percent to €26.3 million in the first half.
SG&A increase due to extension of own retail business
Total SG&A expenses increased in the second quarter from €112 million to €137 million or from 31.7 percent to 34.5 percent of sales. In the first six months, total expenses increased by 19.9 percent to €278 million. As a percentage of sales, SG&A went up from 29.1 percent to 31.1 percent.
The increase was mainly due to the extension of the own retail business. In the first half, Marketing/Retail expenditures accounted for €128 million or 14.4 percent of sales versus 12.5 percent last year. Product development and design expenses rose by 8.8 percent to €19 million, or 2.1 percent of sales. Other selling, general and administrative expenses were up 14.1 percent to €130 million, or from 14.3 percent to 14.6 percent as a percentage of sales. Due to the higher investments in retail operations, depreciation increased by 31.1 percent to €6 million in Q2 and by 27.2 percent to €11 million respectively.
High profitability continues
EBIT climbed from €74 million to €82 million in Q2 and from €191 million to €213 million in H1 leading to an EBIT margin of 20.7 percent and 23.9 percent respectively. In Q2, pre-tax profit increased stronger than expected by 10.5 percent to €84 million and by 12.3 percent to €216 million in H1. The tax rate declined from 30.9 percent to 29.3 percent this year. As a result, net earnings rose from €52 million to €59 million in Q2 and from €132 million to €150 million in H1. This yields in a net margin of 14.9 percent similar to last years second quarter and to 16.8 percent versus 16.6 percent after six months.
marketing@alchempro.com
