YNAP Sales Hit €1 Billion as Mobile Grows

MILAN, Italy — Online luxury retailer Yoox Net-a-Porter SpA reported first-half earnings that beat estimates as the company's mobile platform grew to account for more than half of sales.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose 28 percent to €98 million ($116 million), the Milan-based company said Wednesday after European markets closed. Analysts had predicted €90 million, according to a Bloomberg survey.

Second-quarter sales rose 20 percent on an organic basis, slightly faster than a 19 percent jump in the first three months of the year. First-half sales of about €1 billion broadly matched analyst predictions.

"Since the second quarter we've seen a continued acceleration within our range," chief executive officer Federico Marchetti said by phone, confirming the company's guidance for annual growth between 17 and 20 percent through 2020. "We've decided to be a company centred on mobile, and we expect that percentage to keep growing every week."

Shares in Yoox Net-a-Porter, which sells goods from brands like Gucci and Chloé as well as offering platforms for luxury companies, have risen about 30 percent from their mid-March low amid an industry rebound. Luxury e-commerce rose 13 percent in 2016, according to Bain & Co., and the firm forecasts it will remain the fastest-growing channel for high-end products through 2020.

By Robert Williams; editors: Eric Pfanner, Paul Jarvis.