MILAN (Reuters) - Italian luxury outwear maker Moncler (MI:MONC) scrapped a dividend payment on 2019 results after sales in the first quarter fell by 18% due to the global coronavirus emergency, it said on Wednesday.
The health crisis first hit China - a major market for luxury fashion - late last year before spreading elsewhere, and several European states including Italy and France as well as the United States have gone into lockdown to try to cope.
That has forced Moncler as well as rivals to shut stores and production sites.
After years of strong growth, which made the brand one of the best performing luxury groups, Moncler said it would shelve all non-essential projects including some advertising campaigns to achieve a 30% reduction in total capital spending.
Revenues in the first three months of the year fell to 310 million euros (272.44 million pounds), a touch above an average analyst estimate of 304 million euros, according to Refinitiv data. That marked a 18% decline both at constant and current exchange rates.
On a comparable basis, revenues fell by 24.5% in Italy and by 23% in Asia and in the Americas, with the rest of Europe outperforming the other regions.
The puffer jackets maker called the decision to scrap the dividend, which allows it to save cash, "responsible" given the crisis.
Other luxury goods companies have either scrapped or cut their dividend payments. Prada (HK:1913) said earlier on Wednesday it would no longer pay a dividend on 2019 results, as did Tod's (MI:TOD) last month.
French giants Kering (PA:PRTP) and LVMH (PA:LVMH) have cut their respective dividend payments by 30%.