Dufry's turnover more than doubles as sales inch towards 2019 levels (updated)
09/08/2022 07:34
(Adds background, CEO quote)
By Tristan Chabba and Jagoda Darlak
Aug 9 (Reuters) - Swiss duty-free retailer Dufry DUFN.S
said on Tuesday it saw strong sales momentum continue in July
despite the soaring inflation, after its turnover more than
doubled in the first six months of the year.
The company, which operates more than 2,300 shops at
airports, on cruise liners, in seaports, and other tourist
locations worldwide, has been benefiting from a strong rebound
in travel trends, particularly in Europe and the United States,
after restrictions imposed to tackle the pandemic were lifted.
The Basel-based group posted a 146% rise in turnover to 2.92
billion Swiss francs ($3.06 billion) in the January to June
period, corresponding to 75.5% of the pre-pandemic 2019 levels
in constant currency.
Chief Executive Officer Xavier Rossinyol, who took over the
role from June 1, said the strong momentum had continued into
July, when it reached around 90% of 2019 turnover levels.
"Regions like North America, Central America and the
Caribbean, as well as some of the Southern European and
Mediterranean countries perform in line or above 2019,"
Rossinyol said.
He added, however, that the company would keep monitoring
consumer sentiment and travel-related spending in light of the
current geopolitical and health situation.
Dufry also introduced a new key performance metric, core
earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation and amortisation
- or core EBITDA - which reached 227 million francs and a 7.8%
margin in the six months to June 30.
The Swiss firm added the combination with Italian airport
and motorway caterer Autogrill AGL.MI , announced in July, was
advancing as planned. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2YR0GE
The aim of the deal is to create a travel industry giant to
take advantage of growth opportunities as the sector rebounds.
The Italian group last month reported a 78% rise in
first-half like-for-like sales and nudged up its outlook for
2022, as passengers resumed traveling especially in North
America. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2Z94MZ
($1 = 0.9546 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Tristan Chabba and Jagoda Darlak in Gdansk;
editing by Milla Nissi)
((Tristan.chabba@thomsonreuters.com ; jagoda.darlak@tr.com))