The Herford-based clothing group Ahlers AG announced on Thursday that it was able to increase its sales significantly in the first half of the 2021/22 financial year. At the same time, the parent company of brands such as Baldessarini, Pierre Cardin, Otto Kern and Pioneer had to accept a higher loss than in the same period last year. With regard to the prospects for the year as a whole, the Executive Board is now somewhat more cautious in view of the persistently difficult framework conditions.
In the months from December to May, group sales amounted to EUR 80.3 million, exceeding the corresponding figure for the previous year by 35.4 percent. However, the growth rate was below expectations. The company benefited from the easing of the Covid-19 protective measures that had shaped business last year, but was confronted with new challenges: “The sales growth was dampened by the general reluctance to buy triggered by the start of the war in Ukraine at the end of February 2022 and the associated massive increase in the price of energy,” the group admitted in a statement. In addition, “the ongoing supply chain problems made delivery more difficult, which meant that the goods did not reach the customer’s shelves until late and therefore hardly any follow-up business could be generated”. The pace of growth slowed down over the course of the reporting period: while sales improved by 58 percent in the first quarter, they only increased by 22 percent in the second quarter.
The Executive Board now expects annual results “at the lower end of the forecast range”
In the Premium Brands segment, half-year sales increased by 36.5 percent to EUR 57.6 million thanks to strong growth at Baldessarini and Pierre Cardin, the Jeans & Workwear division with the denim label Pioneer and the workwear brand Pioneer achieved a plus of 32, 7 percent to 22.7 million euros.
Thanks to strong sales growth and an increase in the gross margin, the group was able to improve its operating result. At EUR 6.3 million, the loss before interest and taxes (EBIT) adjusted for special effects was not even half as high as in the same period of the previous year, when it was EUR 12.9 million. However, the reported loss increased because high special income was booked last year through state bridging aid during the Corona crisis and the sale of a property. The net loss grew from 4.1 million euros to 6.0 million euros.
Despite the current adversity, management basically stuck to its targets for the year as a whole. However, it now only expects results at the “lower end of the forecast”. Specifically, the group now expects sales of EUR 180 million and a net loss of EUR 5.0 million for 2021/22.