Fashion, home and healthcare firm Damartex posts decline in annual revenues

French firm Damartex closed the 2023/2024 financial year with revenue of 529.2 million euros, down 9.9 percent at actual exchange rates and 10.2 percent at constant exchange rates versus the previous year.

While the group, active in fashion, home & lifestyle and healthcare across eight brands under its fold, continues to work on improving its operating profitability, it expects net profit for the year to be impacted by exceptional items.

The company having presence in nine countries around the world, said in a release that sales for the second-half were 236.3 million euros, down 7.7 percent at actual exchange and 8.4 percent at like for like exchange rates reflecting both a business impacted by macroeconomic and political instability and contraction in consumption as well as targeted commercial investments. Its main markets are France, Great-Britain, Belgium and Switzerland.

The company added that the fourth quarter was particularly constrained for the fashion and healthcare divisions, while sales in the home & lifestyle division tended to stabilise. Damartex closed its final quarter with revenue of 105.3 million euros, down 10.4 percent at actual exchange and 10.9 percent at like for like exchange rates.

The fashion division posted revenue of 396.2 million euros for the financial year, down 9 at actual exchange and 9.3 percent at like for like exchange rates. The company further said that with sales down 10.2 percent at actual exchange rates, the Damart brand was penalised by a drop in consumption, in particular due to poor weather conditions in the last quarter impacting the entire textile sector. The Xandres brand sales were up 6.8 percent at actual exchange rates for the year.

The home & lifestyle sales reached 99.2 million euros, down 10.6 percent at actual exchange and 11.1 percent at like for like exchange rates. While the 3Pagen brand remained stable, Coopers of Stortford declined, in a context of persistent economic and political tensions in the English market.

Healthcare revenue was 33.7 million euros, down 17.9 percent at actual exchange and 18 percent at like for like exchange rates. Santéol, a home healthcare provider specialising in respiratory assistance, closed the year with revenue up 9 percent at actual exchange rates compared to the previous year. The division was particularly impacted by the underperformance of catalogue sales of homecare accessories under the Almadia brand.