Interparfums raises guidance after sustained growth by Coach perfumes

French fragrance design and distribution group Interparfums has raised its 2018 sales and margin forecasts and its 2019 revenue guidance after doing “excellent business” at the end of the year, bolstered by the positive sales results of the Coach licensed perfumes.

In a press release issued on Tuesday, Interparfums forecast a revenue of €450 million for 2018, equivalent to a 7% increase over 2017. The previous estimate was for sales to be worth just over €430 million.

The group did “excellent business at the end of the year, driven by the performance of Coach perfumes, notably in the USA.”

In the first nine months of the year, total sales for Interparfums had reached €337.2 million, up by 4.1% on a yearly basis, and by 8.2% at constant exchange rates.

In the third quarter, the group’s top performers were the licensed fragrances by New York leather goods label Coach, whose sales increased by 42% on a yearly basis, up to €22.5 million.

Interparfums also raised its operating margin forecast for 2018, which is excepted to reach "between 13.5% and 14%,” as opposed to the previous estimate of between 13% and 13.5%. The group’s operating margin in 2017 was 14.2%.

Interparfums’s solid year-end performance has also boosted its confidence for 2019. According to CEO Philippe Benacin, cited in the press release, the group now expects record sales worth €470 million this year, as opposed to the previous estimate of €460 million to €470 million.

While Interparfums made no major product launch in 2018, it plans to step up the pace in 2019, staging several strategic releases, starting with a third men's fragrance line by Montblanc early in the year.

A new feminine line by Lanvin will be launched next summer, and a second men's line by Jimmy Choo in the autumn, while a series of marketing initiatives will bolster the existing Coach and Rochas lines.