MILAN (Reuters) - Sales at Italian fashion group Tod's rose by 14.3% in the first nine months of the year, thanks to resilient sales in Europe and despite a slowdown in China in the third quarter.
In light of the third-quarter results, the group now sees the analyst consensus for 1.138 billion euros in sales and 93 million euros in operating profit for the full year as still achievable but a little more challenging.
"It can be done but it really depends on the performance of the last quarter," Tod's CFO Emilio Macellari said in a conference call with analysts.
"I should say that considering the current situation, the slowdown in China, some difficulties all around the world also due to the situation of the Middle East tension and fears, this can be somehow a bit challenging," he added.
The challenge was more marked on the EBIT level rather than at the sales level, according to Macellari.
Tod's revenues totalled 828.4 million euros ($887 million) in the January-September period, a touch above a 827 million euro forecast in an analyst consensus cited by Equita research.
"All our brands recorded double-digit growth in sales, thanks to the combination of solid local demand and tourist purchases," Chairman and CEO Diego Della Valle said in a statement.
The Tod's CFO added that the October sales trend was similar to the trend seen in the third quarter.
($1 = 0.9337 euros)