Tod's shares jump 12% after first sales rise in six years

Shares in Tod's jumped more than 12% on Wednesday after the Italian luxury fashion group beat forecasts with its first increase in annual sales since 2015.

Boosted by strong fourth-quarter growth in Europe and the United States, revenues rose almost 40% to 883.8 million euros ($997 million) last year, just below pre-pandemic levels, the luxury leather goods maker said on Tuesday.

That compared with analysts' average forecast of 842 million euros, according to a company-provided poll.

The sales figures will allow Tod's to report positive earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for the 2021 fiscal year, Chief Executive Diego Della Valle said.

Jefferies said that was a welcome surprise given analysts' consensus forecast for a 6 million euro loss in 2021.

"This implies second-half profitability above 2019 levels," the broker added.

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a revenue drop of almost 33% for Tod's in 2020, making it among the worst performers in the luxury industry.

Many luxury groups are emerging strongly from the pandemic as cooped-up shoppers treat themselves with high-end purchases.

Tod's will release full results on March 10.

Its shares were up 12.63% at 1106 GMT, outperforming Italy's all-share index, which was up 2.2%.