PPR 2011 profits up as luxury demand defies economic slump


François-Henri Pinault (crédit : Dominique Maitre)
PARIS - French luxury group PPR posted on Thursday forecast-beating results for 2011 and issued an upbeat outlook, buoyed by strong Asian demand for high-end brands like Gucci.

Net profit was up 2.3 percent to 986 million euros ($1.286 billion), while recurring net income, which strips out discontinued operations, soared 26.4 percent to 1.05 billion euros.

Analysts had forecasted 944 million euros in earnings.

Revenues were also up 11.1 percent to 12.23 billion euros.

"PPRs results for 2011 are excellent," said Francois-Henri Pinault, the group's chairman and chief executive.

"PPR is confident that 2012 will be another year of sustained revenue growth and improvements in our operating and financial performances," he added.

The group's luxury brands, which include Bottega Veneta and Yves Saint Laurent, posted 22.6 percent jump to 4.97 billion euros.

But Gucci remains the main contributor of those sales, with 3.14 billion euros worth of products sold.

Despite the results, PPR shares were down 3.78 percent to 119.75 euros in afternoon trade on the Paris stock exchange, underperforming the weak market which was down 0.52 percent, over analysts concerns of weaker Gucci sales in the fourth quarter.

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