“Our revised 2008 guidance reflects the recent sustained strength of the U.S. dollar against the euro, particularly over the last six weeks which has affected our growth rate in sales," said Russell Greenberg, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer. "We previously expected that the strength of our brands and new product launches would enable us to reach our previously issued guidance. However, the very challenging economic environment that has manifested over the last few weeks brings doubt to that expectation.”
e added, “While we recognize that we are not alone, we also believe that 2009 will continue to be challenging with the likelihood of a prolonged global recession. We expect sales to increase approximately 5% in constant dollars. However, as a result of the recent rise of the U.S. dollar against the euro, our initial guidance for 2009 in absolute dollars calls for net sales of approximately $405 million and net income of approximately $26.0 million, or $0.85 per diluted share. In 2009, a stronger dollar is expected to have a favorable impact on gross margin and net income because approximately one-third of the sales generated by our European based operations are to customers in the U.S. This guidance assumes the dollar remains at current levels, is based upon current operations and assumes that no further licensing or specialty retail agreements or brand acquisitions are consummated.”
Jean Madar, Chairman and CEO of Inter Parfums, noted, “Based on the success of our recent initiatives, we will continue to invest in new products. Despite the anticipated continued challenging economic environment, our 2009 new product launch schedule for European-based operations includes the global rollout of the men’s version of Burberry The Beat following an exclusive debut at Bloomingdale’s. We also have a new Paul Smith fragrance for men, and a Lanvin L’Homme Sport line, with tennis star, Rafael Nadel as its spokesperson. The Quiksilver signature fragrance for men is also in our rollout schedule, as is a limited edition, high-end women’s fragrance for the Van Cleef & Arpels brand.”