// Tiffany & Co records global net sales rise from May to July
// Sales improved during the first half of 2020 and the second quarter
Tiffany & Co has recorded a rise in its monthly worldwide net sales from May to July despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
For the second quarter, Tiffany & Co saw improvements in monthly worldwide net sales from May to July.
Meanwhile, global net sales declined 29 per cent from the prior year to $747 million (£554 million) and comparable sales declined 24 per cent from the prior year.
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In the first half, global net sales were 37 per cent below the first half of the prior year to $1.3 billion (£970 million).
The US luxury jeweller said the Covid-19 pandemic continued to have a negative global impact on trading during the second quarter of 2020.
“We were excited to see that the encouraging trends we cited for the first quarter, namely, increased sales in Mainland China and global ecommerce, accelerated during the second quarter and propelled our return to quarterly profitability,” Tiffany & Co chief executive Alessandro Bogliolo said.
“Importantly, our global sales trends have strengthened in August, with preliminary month-to-date worldwide sales through August 25 being slightly positive as compared to the same month-to-date period in the prior year.”
Second quarter net earnings of $32 million (£23 million) were 77 per cent lower than the prior year’s $136 million (£101 million), while net earnings per diluted share were 26 cents versus 1.12 dollars in the prior year.
Excluding certain costs recorded in the period related to the pending acquisition of the company by LVMH, second quarter net earnings were $39 million (£28 million) or 32 cents per diluted share.
For the first half, net loss was $33 million (£24 million) compared to net earnings of $262 million (£194 million) in the prior year, and net loss per share was 27 cents versus net earnings per diluted share of 2.15 dollars in the prior year.
Excluding costs recorded in the period related to the merger and other items, first half net loss was $25 million (£18 million) or 21 cents per share.
In Europe, total net sales declined 28 per cent in the second quarter and 34 per cent in the first half to $84 million (£62 million) and $145 million (£107 million) respectively, and comparable sales declined 27 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively.
Earlier this week, Louis Vuitton owner LVMH extended the deadline to complete its $16.2 billion (£12.41 billion) acquisition of Tiffany & Co after the deal failed to close on August 24 – the date set out in deal documents.
The deal was agreed upon last year as LVMH was set to make its biggest acquisition yet as it eyed Tiffany & Co.
The August 24 date was set as the first deadline to complete the deal, but the opportunity to extend the deal to November 24 was on offer, according to a Tiffany & Co filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission submitted earlier this year.
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