Moncler 2016 sales rise 18 percent lifted by Asia and United States

Italian luxury outerwear maker Moncler said on Tuesday sales rose 18 percent last year at both current and constant exchange rates, lifted by sales in China, Korea and the United States.

Revenues last year were 1.04 billion euros ($1.1 billion), in line with a Thomson Reuters estimate of 1 billion euros.

Comparable store sales were up 7 percent in 2016. At the end of last year the group had 190 directly owned stores, 17 more than at the end of 2015.

Chairman and Chief Executive Remo Ruffini said in a statement he was convinced the group would continue to grow in 2017.

During a conference call with analysts, Chief Operating Officer Roberto Eggs said the group has started talks with Dufry for new openings in airports, timing will depend on opportunities. 

Chief Corporate Officer Luciano Santel also discussed the company's growth drivers, attributing the majority of growth in 2016 from volumes, while prices remained mostly stable.

He also said that the group filed for Patent Box tax break regime last year and is expecting an answer from Italian tax authorities this year. He added that the group plans to continue investing, making it imprudent to think of a better EBITDA margin in 2017 than in 2016.

The group said it proposed to pay 0.18 euros per share on the 2016 results, for a total of 45 million euros.

($1 = 0.9419 euros)