The Swiss textile group Calida Holding AG slipped deep into the red in the 2023 financial year due to extensive one-off charges. In addition, the group of companies had to report a decline in sales and the impending departure of two executives on Friday.
Accordingly, Chief Operating Officer (COO) Daniel Gemperle will retire at the end of March. At the same time, Chief Information & Digital Officer (CIDO) Hanna Huber is leaving the group. They have “decided to look for a new professional challenge outside of the group,” said Calida.
Group sales fell by 4.6 percent
Last year, group sales from continuing operations – i.e. excluding the shares of the now sold Erlich Textil brand – amounted to 304.4 million Swiss francs (319.0 million euros). This corresponded to a decline of 4.6 percent compared to 2022. Adjusted for exchange rate changes, revenue fell by 1.7 percent.
The core brand Calida increased its sales by 1.4 percent (currency-adjusted +3.8 percent) to 157.7 million Swiss francs, while the Aubade lingerie label suffered a decline of 7.1 percent (currency-adjusted -4.0 percent) to 68. Accept 9 million Swiss francs. Sales at the outdoor furniture division Lafuma Mobilier even fell by 26.0 percent (-23.2 percent adjusted for currency effects) to 47.5 million Swiss francs.
The Cosabella label’s consolidated sales rose by 59.2 percent (currency-adjusted +69.3 percent) to 22.6 million Swiss francs. However, in the previous year only the sales contribution after the takeover, which was completed at the end of May 2022, was included in the balance sheet.
High one-off charges are pushing the Calida Group into the red
One-off charges of 51.8 million Swiss francs, which resulted from impairments at Cosabella and costs associated with the discontinuation of the multi-brand online shop Onmyskin, resulted in the group reporting an operating loss from continuing operations of 40.2 million Swiss francs had to accept. Adjusted for special effects, operating profit fell by 59.3 percent to 12.2 million Swiss francs.
The net loss from continuing operations amounted to 44.8 million Swiss francs, following a corresponding profit of 22.9 million Swiss francs in the previous year. Adjusted for special effects, the surplus from continuing operations fell by 70.7 percent to 7.0 million Swiss francs.
The reported net loss, which also takes into account the results of Erlich Textil, was 66.5 million Swiss francs (69.7 million euros). The group closed the 2022 financial year with a corresponding profit of 37.0 million Swiss francs.