Interparfums revenue rises 34% in first quarter

On Friday, French fragrance group Interparfums has reported a 34% leap in its first quarter revenue, up to €112.4 million, thanks to the positive impact of the launch of several new perfume lines. The trend however "cannot be extrapolated" to apply to 2017 as a whole.

In the last six months, Interparfums has launched a spate of new fragrance lines, notably for Coach, Jimmy Choo, Lanvin and Rochas.

All of them have posted very strong growth rates at the start of the year: 62% for Jimmy Choo, 51% for Lanvin and 48% for Rochas, according to a press release.

After kicking off in fine form in the second half of 2016, the first women's fragrance line by Coach has kept up its momentum, with sales worth €7.6 million in the latest quarter.

The existing Jimmy Choo and Rochas lines also made a strong showing, as did Montblanc, even though overall sales for the latter lost 7% on a yearly basis, due to a very high benchmark.

Interparfums' quarterly sales were especially dynamic in North America (+31%) and Asia (+37%), while growth was less explosive in Western Europe.

"The growth rate recorded in the first quarter is very strong, due to a concentration of several major launches early in the year, but it cannot be extrapolated for the quarters that will follow," said Philippe Benacin, the CEO of Interparfums, quoted in the press release.

"Taking into account the fact that the international economic environment is highly volatile, we remain prudent," he added, while confirming the group's forecast of a revenue of €390 million in 2017, compared to €365.6 million in 2016.