The French clothing group SMCP lowered its forecasts for the current 2023 financial year on Monday evening. Since the most recent interim report in July, market conditions have deteriorated overall, the parent company of the Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot and Fursac brands said in a statement.
In important European markets such as France, Switzerland and Italy, growth has slowed due to inflation-related pressures, and consumption in China has not developed as expected, the clothing supplier explained.
Specifically, SMCP now only expects currency-adjusted sales growth in the mid-single-digit percentage range for the full year, after previously expecting growth of a mid- to high-single-digit percentage.
For the second half of the year, management is currently expecting a slight improvement in sales compared to the same period last year. In the third quarter, revenues would stagnate or decline slightly, and a return to the sales trend of the first half of the year is expected in the final quarter, according to a statement.
The target for earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) adjusted for special effects was also revised slightly downwards. The company now forecasts an adjusted EBIT margin of between seven and nine percent. So far, the target was an increase of 9.2 percent compared to the previous year’s level.