Kering Sees Very Significant Drop in 2013 Net on Puma, Redoute

PARIS, France — Kering, formerly called PPR, said it expects net income this year to drop "very significantly," hurt by one-time charges related to its Puma brand and from costs related to its sale of mail-order business La Redoute.

The Paris-based company said in an e-mailed statement that its board met today to examine the offers it has received for La Redoute.

The sale and any possible job cuts from the disposal have raised the ire of the French government, which is trying to cut unemployment that has touched a 14-year high of 10.9 percent.

Any solution for La Redoute “will have a significant impact on the net result from discontinued operations,” the company said in the statement. Kering also reiterated one-time charges related to sportswear brand Puma.

The company said the elements are non-recurring and reiterated “its confidence in the solidity of its operating performance for the year 2013 as a whole, as well as its level of recurring net income.”

The statement was released after the close of trading in Paris. Kering shares slid 0.6 percent to 163.25 euros.

Editor: Vidya Root