Finnish retailer Stockmann sees better times ahead (updated)

Lindex Oyj

25/02/2022 06:52

(Adds comments, details on earnings, outlook, and background)
    HELSINKI, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Stockmann  STOCKA.HE , a
Finnish premium department store chain, posted a rise in
fourth-quarter earnings on Friday and said it expected the
positive development to continue as long as no major COVID-19
restrictions are imposed again.
    The 160-year-old retailer has been in dire straits after it
entered the online shopping market late and suffered heavy
losses in Russia, but seems to have put the worst behind despite
the pandemic impact.
    "Stockmann expects an increase in the group's revenue and
that the adjusted operating result will be clearly positive," it
said in its outlook for 2022.    
    Stockmann has gone through heavy cost cutting in recent
years, and the chain announced in January that it had sold its
store buildings in Estonia and Latvia as planned in its
eight-year restructuring plan.
    "Stockmann Plc systematically implemented the corporate
restructuring programme approved on 9 February 2021, and the key
measures were accomplished at a rapid rate," Chief Executive
Officer Jari Latvanen said in a statement.
    The retailaer said its October-December operating profit was
50.6 million euros ($56.8 million), versus a loss of 256 million
in the same quarter a year ago.
    After selling its profitable grocery stores to a competitor,
Stockmann has relied on women's clothing brand Lindex, which
posted a profit of 74.6 million euros for full-year 2021, up
from 38.8 million in 2020.
    The chain said the pandemic had hurt its businesses in 2021
by creating challenges for international logistics and by
reducing customer footfall.
    "However, visits to department stores and fashion stores
picked up from the levels seen in 2020, and online shopping also
continued to grow strongly in 2021," Stockmann said.    
    
    ($1 = 0.8913 euros)
    

 (Reporting by Anne Kauranen; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and
Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
 ((anne.kauranen@thomsonreuters.com; +358401895560;))