Richemont Says Yoox Net-a-Porter Lost $137 Million In First Half As Sales Fell 10%

Richemont reported a six-month operating loss of €0.7 million in its “discontinued operations” unit comprising Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP), citing continued losses at the e-commerce group as well as a €0.5 billion additional write-down on the asset.

YNAP, which is set to be spun off in a joint venture with US-listed rival Farfetch, saw its sales fall by 10 percent at constant currency in the six-months from April through September, Richemont said.

The €0.5 billion additional write-down reflects a significant slide in the market capitalisation of Farfetch (which is set to pay for a 47.5 percent stake in YNAP in shares) as well as a reduction in the expected fair value of Richemont’s remaining shares in YNAP. The Swiss luxury group previously announced a €3.4 billion write-down to YNAP’s value in its full-year results.

Richemont’s negative result of €655 million in discontinued operations implied losses of €128 million ($137 million) from YNAP’s operations once the €527 write-down was deducted.

Elsewhere, Richemont said sales grew 12 percent at constant exchange in the first six months of its fiscal year, reflecting a normalisation in luxury demand after a post-pandemic boom. Jewellery sales at the Cartier- and Van Cleef-owner grew by 16 percent, while growth slowed to 3 percent for the specialist watchmakers division including Vacheron Constantin, IWC, and Jaeger-LeCoultre.

At YNAP, the gloomy results and additional write-down suggest continued declines for multi-brand luxury e-commerce. Farfetch, which is set to report its own quarterly results 29th November, has seen its market value tumble by more than 82 percent over the past 12 months.

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