French fashion group SMCP Q4 sales rise, confirms financial targets

French fashion group SMCP reported higher fourth-quarter revenues, driven by brisk holiday season trading and store openings, and confirmed its full-year financial targets for earnings growth.

SMCP, majority-owned by Chinese group Shandong Ruyi and whose brands include Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot, said fourth quarter sales had risen by 14.1 percent to 256 million euros ($316.19 million).

Over the whole of 2017, SMCP’s sales rose by 16 percent to 912 million euros, which the company said beat its own internal target for sales of around 900 million euros.

Like-for-like sales, which do not take into account store openings, were up 7.8 percent.

“SMCP has once again posted a fantastic year in terms of net sales and strategic network expansion across all regions and brands,” said chief executive Daniel Lalonde.

SMCP also kept its full-year 2017 target for an EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margin of 16.5 percent.