In its interim report for the January-September period, published on 30 October 2012, Marimekko Corporation estimated that the Group's net sales for the whole year would grow by over 10% and operating profit would at least double compared to 2011. The company is revising its earlier estimate of operating profit for 2012.
Christmas sales in Marimekko's own retail stores in Finland and the company's other main markets have taken off noticeably more slowly than anticipated. Partly for the same reason, orders by retailers in Finland have also been clearly lower than expected. In addition, the trend in some of the company-owned stores opened outside Finland in recent months has been below expectations.
As announced earlier, an increased share of the Group's net sales comes from the sales of company-owned stores, which adds to the seasonality of the business and substantially shifts the main thrust of the accrual of net sales and operating profit to the final quarter.
This, together with increased fixed costs resulting from internationalization during the past few years and the expansion of the company's own retail store network, markedly increases operating result fluctuations in both directions - negative in this case.
According to the new estimate, the Group's operating profit for the whole year 2012 is forecast to be approximately at the same level as in 2011. The actual operating profit will depend critically on the trend in sales during the rest of the Christmas season.
The net sales estimate given in the interim report of 30 October 2012 remains unchanged. The updated forecast for 2012 in its entirety is as follows: the Marimekko Group's net sales are estimated to grow by over 10% and operating profit is forecast to be approximately at the same level as in 2011.
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