MILAN (Reuters) – Salvatore Ferragamo on Thursday reported that its adjusted operating profit had more than halved last year, as the Italian luxury leather goods group seeks a new boss to replace departing Chief Executive Marco Gobbetti.
The company cited a slowdown in Asian markets, with a particularly difficult environment in China, and a challenging global wholesale environment in its earnings statement.
“Considering the uncertainties over demand by luxury consumers, we remain cautious on short-term expectations,” it said, indicating there would be no immediate turnaround.
As announced last month, the company said that its CEO Gobbetti had stepped down on Thursday after little over three years in charge, during which time the former Burberry chief failed to stem a slide in sales at the Florentine brand.
Chairman Leonardo Ferragamo told financial analysts that designer Maximilian Davis had his full support. Davis was hired as creative director in 2022 shortly after Gobbetti took charge of the company.
The chairman also said the family of late founder Salvatore Ferragamo remained committed to the company.
Adjusted earning before interest and taxes (EBIT) dropped to 35 million euros, better than a LSEG analysts consensus, after the company last year warned it expected EBIT of around 30 million euros. The comparable figure in 2023 was 79 million euros.
The group reported a net loss of 68 million euros in 2024 from a profit of 26 million euros a year earlier.
Ferragamo’s revenues declined 4% at constant currencies in the fourth quarter. In January the group flagged “encouraging results” from its direct-to-consumer sales which were overall flat in the last three months of the year.
(Reporting by Elisa Anzolin; Editing by Keith Weir)
