ECCO's CEO, Dieter Kasprzak, has announced that the company delivered its best ever results in 2013. "We expect 2014 to show increased revenue and profitability"
"It's a very pleasing performance," he said. "We have been successful in reorganising our production footprint, whilst growing our business and profits." The key financial highlights of ECCO's 2013 performance were: -Net revenue was EUR 1.131m, an increase of EUR 47.9m, equivalent to 4.4%. Profit before tax was EUR 165.4m, an increase of 8% over 2012. This produced a profit ratio of 14.6%, against 14.1% in 2012. -The year's result is EUR 106.4m, an increase of 15.8% compared to 2012. -Investments were reduced from the exceptionally high level of EUR 79.6m in 2012, to EUR 45.7m, but there have been more consumer and market-oriented investments than in 2012. -The equity increased from EUR 418.4m to EUR 461.6m. -The solvency at year-end was 59.8%, against 55% in 2012. -The return on equity increased from 22.6% to 24.2%. ECCO launched a significant number of new products and many became bestsellers. The special Anniversary shoe, ECCO MIND, sold out very quickly and proved again that iconic designs last.
ECCO continued to invest in upgrading its distribution in Europe, Asia, and North America. In 2013, 255 new shops and shop-in-shops were opened, bringing the total number of ECCO shops and shop-in-shops to 2,989. In addition, more than 300 shops were upgraded and refitted during 2013, underlining ECCO's strategic commitment to offer consumers better shopping experiences. In 2013, China and Russia recorded particularly strong sales. In several markets, ECCO's e-commerce grew significantly in 2013, becoming an increasingly important distribution channel. The sales of ECCO produced leathers to manufacturers of other premium and luxury brands experienced another year of rapid growth, rising by 58% to EUR 82m. Sales of leather goods and shoe accessories continued their positive trend, growing by 12.6% to EUR 38m.
