Yoox Net-a-Porter Boosted by Luxury Shoppers on Smartphones

(Bloomberg) -- Online luxury retailer Yoox Net-a-Porter SpA reported first-half earnings that beat estimates as the company's mobile platform grew to account for more than half of sales.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 28 percent to 98 million euros ($116 million), the Milan-based company said Wednesday after European markets closed. Analysts had predicted 90 million euros, according to a Bloomberg survey. 

Second-quarter sales rose 20 percent on an organic basis, slightly faster than a 19 percent jump in the first three months of the year. First-half sales of about 1 billion euros broadly matched analysts' predictions.

“Since the second quarter we've seen a continued acceleration within our range,” Chief Executive Officer Federico Marchetti said by phone, confirming the company's guidance for annual growth between 17 and 20 percent through 2020. “We've decided to be a company centered on mobile, and we expect that percentage to keep growing every week.”

Shares in Yoox Net-a-Porter, which sells goods from brands like Gucci and Chloe as well as offering platforms for luxury companies, have risen about 30 percent from their mid-March low amid an industry rebound. Luxury e-commerce rose 13 percent in 2016, according to Bain & Co., and the firm forecasts it will remain the fastest-growing channel for high-end products through 2020.

Short interest in the seller of $9,990 Oscar de la Renta ballgowns and $995 Christian Louboutin sneakers has also spiked as the company is seen facing increased competition from fellow web companies like Farfetch and Amazon.com Inc. as well as luxury brands' own online stores. As many as 21 percent of the company's shares are out on loan, according to Markit data, suggesting that many traders expect the company's valuation to fall.

Marchetti said the company increased its share of online luxury sales to 11 percent from 10 percent over the last year. Adding watches and jewelry helped cater to the site's biggest spenders, he said.

Second-quarter growth was led by China, with currency-adjusted sales growing 31 percent in the Asia-Pacific region, nearly twice as fast as the 17 percent growth in North America, Yoox Net-a-Porter's second-fastest-growing region.

To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Williams in Paris at rwilliams323@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Eric Pfanner at epfanner1@bloomberg.net, Anthony Palazzo