PADOVA, Italy—The board of directors of Safilo Group S.p.A. [SFL.IM] reviewed and approved Q1 2016 economic and financial key performance indicators (KPIs) yesterday.

As already communicated, of the Italian Legislative Decree no. 25 of Feb. 15, 2016, which eliminates, in accordance with the European Union’s Transparency Directive, the obligation to publish interim management statements, Safilo has decided to release, on a voluntary basis, a trading update for its first quarter and third quarter economic and financial KPIs.

In the first quarter of 2016, Safilo’s net sales reached €301.6 million, down 7.0 percent at current exchange rates and 6.6 percent at constant exchange rates, compared to €324.3 million in the first quarter of 2015. Sales performance reflected, on one side, the negative impact of the brands that the Group stopped/will stop servicing, while on the other, the positive trends of the going forward brands portfolio, up 1 percent at constant exchange rates, reflecting solid performance in core markets and a mixed performance among emerging markets, the company said.

Q1 2016 sales in North America were €127.2 million compared to €132.9 million in the first quarter of 2015, down 4.3 percent at current exchange rates and 5.6 percent at constant exchange rates. In the period, sales in the 121 Solstice stores in the U.S. (132 stores at the end of March 2015) remained weak, falling by 15.2 percent at current exchange rates and by 17.0 percent at constant exchange rates.

The North America wholesale business in Q1 equaled €110.4 million compared to €113.1 million in the corresponding period of last year, down 2.4 percent at current exchange rates and 3.6 percent at constant exchange rates. Sales performance of the going forward brands portfolio was positive by 3.1 percent at constant exchange rates, the company noted.

Q1 2016 sales in Europe equaled €130.1 million compared to €132.9 million in the first quarter of 2015, down 2.1 percent at current exchange rates and 1.7 percent at constant exchange rates. In the period, sales of the going forward brands increased by 3.6 percent at constant exchange rates.

Q1 2016 sales in Asia totaled €26.7 million compared to €37.5 million in the first quarter of 2015, down 28.7 percent at current exchange rates and 28.3 percent at constant exchange rates. In the period, sales performance of the going forward brands in the region was down 14.6 percent at constant exchange rates.

Q1 2016 sales in the Rest of the World regions were €17.6 million compared to €21.1 million in the first quarter of 2015, down 16.3 percent at current exchange rates and 6.0 percent at constant exchange rates. In the period, sales performance of the going forward brands in the region was positive by 2.8 percent at constant exchange rates.

In the Q1 2016, the group’s EBITDA was affected by non-recurring, restructuring costs of €5.4 million, related mostly to the Group’s overhead cost saving initiatives announced in March. Excluding these items, Q1 2016 adjusted EBITDA was equal to €25.2 million, down 22.6 percent compared to the adjusted EBITDA of €32.6 million in the first quarter of 2015.

In the first quarter of 2016, adjusted EBITDA margin stood at 8.4 percent of net sales compared to 10.0 percent in the same period of 2015, mainly reflecting the negative operating leverage stemming from the declining sales. 2016 adjusted EBITDA does not include non-recurring costs for €5.4 million of which €4.2 million related to overhead cost saving initiatives, such as for the planned integration of Vale of Leven (Scotland) Polaroid lens production into Safilo’s China based corporate supply network, and €1.2 million related to commercial restructuring costs in the EMEA region.

At the end of March 2016, Safilo’s net debt stood at €109.7 million, down 14.5 percent compared to €128.3 million at the end of March 2015, while increasing by 22.0 percent compared to the end of December 2015 for the normal seasonality of the business, the company said.