THE WHAT? Interparfums has reported its results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2019. Net sales swelled 5.6 percent to US$713.5 million (+7.3 percent in comparable currency) and net income grew 12 percent to US$60.2 million.

THE DETAILS The company reported top line growth in nearly every region in which it operates, with sales strong in North America (+11.4 percent) and the Middle East (22.4 percent) in particular.

Montblanc, the group’s biggest brand, saw annual sales rise 23 percent although the strength of the dollar impacted the performance of Jimmy Choo and Coach.

Despite the solid 2019 show, however, the group remained circumspect about its prospects for the year ahead, revising its 2020 outlook to account for the impact coronavirus is already having on travel retail channels.

THE WHY?  Russel Greenberh, Executive Vice President and CFO explained, “The fundamentals of our business remain strong. However, like most companies doing business around the globe, ours is being impacted by the coronavirus. There are many unknowns as to the duration and severity of the situation which we are closely monitoring. As a result of the trends we have seen recently, such as the significant decline in air travel and consumer traffic in key shopping and tourist areas, we delayed certain launches to later in the year, and therefore, our 2020 guidance needs to be revised. The business challenges change daily, as the track of the virus is unknown, making it very difficult to precisely estimate the impact.  If the impact is limited to the first few months of this year, we expect 2020 net sales and net income attributable to Inter Parfums to be in line with 2019 results. We are assessing developments constantly and will update these measures as needed.”