Marimekko - Strong start to the year
Marimekko’s Q1 results came in stronger than expected driven partly by the timing of non-recurring wholesale deliveries in Finland that boosted net sales.
- Group result: driven by strong wholesale development in Finland, Q1 net sales grew by 7% to EUR 37.7m (35.4/35.6m Evli/cons.). The domestic wholesale sales grew strongly while the retail sales also fared better than expected. Growth in the international markets was largely in line with what we expected. Adj. EBIT amounted to EUR 5.2m (3.3/3.5m Evli/cons.), reflecting a margin of 13.8%. Profitability was supported by higher volumes and stronger than expected gross margin, on the other hand, increased fixed costs weakened profitability. EPS came in at EUR 0.10 (0.06/0.06 Evli/cons.).
- Finland: topline grew 8% to EUR 19.4m (Evli est. EUR 16.9m) supported by strong wholesale sales which grew 18% y/y driven by the timing of non-recurring wholesale deliveries. In addition to wholesale, retail sales grew 2% y/y, which also surpassed our estimate.
- Int’l: Marimekko’s international sales grew 6% y/y while we had expected growth of little over 7%. APAC continued to be strong as expected while EMEA was clearly weaker in terms of volumes than we had estimated.
- Marimekko continues to expect that the sales in Finland will be roughly at the level of last year in 2024. While Q1 was strong for domestic wholesale sales, the company expects that the wholesale sales will be significantly lower for the full year when compared to last year.
- Outlook for international sales remains unchanged as Marimekko estimates that the sales will grow in 2024. The aim is to open approximately 10-15 new Marimekko stores and shop-in-shops, and most of the planned openings will be in Asia.