PADUA, Italy—The Board of Directors of Safilo Group S.p.A. (SFLG.MI) has reviewed the Group’s preliminary key performance indicators for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2022. The full year annual results will be approved by the Board of Directors on March 9, 2023, during which the Group will also approve its medium-term economic and financial targets, which the management will present to the market on the following day during a Capital Market Day to be held in Milan.

In 2022, Safilo's preliminary net sales amounted to €1076.7 million, up 11.1 percent at current exchange rates and 4.2 percent at constant exchange rates compared to €969.6 million recorded in 2021. In 2022, organic sales grew by 7.7 percent at constant exchange rates, recording another significant improvement after the 10.5 percent growth achieved in 2021 compared to 2019.

Own brands represented a driving force behind the group’s overall performance, in particular Smith, which with another strong increase in sales confirmed its position as one of the leading brands in the rapidly growing segment and distribution channel of outdoor eyewear and sports products. Carrera and Polaroid also posted yet another year of double-digit growth, broad based by distribution channel and product category, with Carrera exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

Safilo’s licensed business also delivered solid growth in 2022, thanks to the positive development achieved by the eyewear collections of its leading licensed brands, and to the inclusion of new licenses in the portfolio which effectively contributed to offset the sales recorded in 2021 with the discontinued business.

By geographical area, Europe remained the key growth driver in 2022, contributing to the upside in revenues of 12.3 percent at current exchange rates, growth of 12 percent at constant exchange rates and 16.1 percent at the organic sales level.

The North American market benefited from the strengthening of the dollar against the euro, closing up 6.8 percent  at current exchange rates. The performance at constant exchange rates, in total down by 4.7 percent, was instead flat versus 2021 at the organic sales level (-0.3 percent), reflecting a challenging basis of comparison, especially in the second half of the year.

In Q4 2022, Safilo's preliminary net sales amounted to €245.4 million, up 5.7 percent at current exchange rates and substantially in line with the business recorded in Q4 2021 at constant exchange rates (-0.6 percent reported and +0.7 percent at the organic sales level).

On a preliminary basis, Safilo closed the full year 2022 with an adjusted EBITDA of around €101 million, and a margin on sales of approximately 9.4 percent. Also on a preliminary basis, the group's net debt as at Dec. 31, 2022 stood at around €113 million, slightly better than the position of €115.4 million reported at the end of September 2022.