BERLIN — Citing lighter-than-expected trading in the third quarter, Hugo Boss cut its sales and earnings forecast for 2015.
The fashion house said deterioration in the Asian market and a slowdown in the Americas negatively impacted its third-quarter results. On a preliminary basis, sales (unadjusted for currency effects) slipped 1 percent. In euro terms, sales rose 4 percent to 744 million euros, or $827.5 million.
Dollar figures are converted at an average exchange rate for the period to which they refer.
Directly operated stores, which have been the group’s unfailing growth motor for the past few years, generated flat sales in the quarter in local currencies. Boss said sales in Europe remained strong and were in line with expectations, while business in Asia and the Americas experienced difficulties toward the end of the quarter. It pointed to sales declines in China as well as a slowdown in the group’s own retail business and wholesale in the U.S., which was further exacerbated by weaker tourist demand.
Challenging sales trends at directly operated stores, combined with medium and long-term investments, negatively affected operative earnings. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization before special items was down by 8 percent to 168 million euros, or $186.9 million. Boss noted that a negative charge of about 16 million euros, or $17.8 million, related to adverse exchange rate movements of the Brazilian real and Swiss franc also impacted the group’s financial results.
Boss is now projecting group sales growth of between 3 percent and 5 percent for the year, down from its earlier forecast of midsingle-digit rate gains. EBITDA before special items is now expected to grow between 3 percent and 5 percent as well, compared to the original forecast of 5 percent to 7 percent growth.
Boss will publish final third-quarter and nine-month results on November 3.
