Bulgari profits plunge despite Aussie boom

Posted March 23, 2010 |

Italian jeweller Bulgari posted a $70 million loss for 2009, despite its Australian market skyrocketing during that period.

The loss, brought about by a 14.4 per cent drop in jewellery sales, was announced last week.

Interestingly, one of the few positives in the release was Bulgari’s Australian results, up by a staggering 66.9 per cent in 2009. In comparison, its European market was down by 16.7 per cent, America by 31.6 per cent, and Asia by 18.8 per cent.

According to the company media release, it was the first net loss for Bulgari in 26 years.

Francesco Trapani, CEO Bulgari Group, blamed the results on the continuing impact on consumer spending by the global financial crisis.

“The 2009 financial results were heavily influenced by the global crisis in financial markets and its effects on the demand for goods and services,” he said.

Trapani also pointed to improving sales as a sign the company was recovering.

“Having started the year with two extremely difficult quarters, Bulgari began to show progressive improvement from the third quarter, continuing to year-end,” he said.

First quarter sales for 2009 were down 30.6 per cent on the previous year, while fourth quarter sales were only down 2.7 per cent.

According to the media release, Bulgari’s turnover has continued to improve in the first two months of 2009, a trend they expect to maintain throughout the year.