Happi Staff03.24.20
Although Inter Parfums, Inc. withdrew its full-year guidance for 2020, Chairman and CEO Jean Madar said there are signs that markets in China and South Korea are returning to normal. Furthermore, the company is well-positioned to ride out coronavirus, having built a cash reserve.
“Our teams are set up to work from home and carry on business as efficiently as possible,” said Madar. “While the duration, scale, spread and conclusion of the coronavirus are beyond our control, we are well prepared financially and operationally to withstand the resulting business downturn and to return to normalized operations once the health crisis is largely resolved.”
Inter Parfums entered 2020 with $253 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, and only $10.7 million of long-term debt. At the same time, the quarterly dividend of $0.33 will be paid on time on April 15, 2020.
“Operationally, we are preparing for increased demand in the post-COVID-19 environment, with business in Asia already showing signs of a comeback,” observed Madar. “Of note, we have seen a resumption of more normalized sales levels in South Korea and China, with internet sales especially strong. We are gearing up to be prepared to rapidly fill the distribution channels once the crisis is behind us. In that regard, we have maintained reasonable inventory levels of components and finished goods, and are gaining local market intelligence from our distributors and production capacity data from our suppliers.”
Madar concluded that Inter Parfums is fundamentally strong and he is confident that with its portfolio of prestige brands, financial wherewithal, global distribution network and dedicated staff and partners throughout the world, Inter Parfums will once again grow and thrive.
“However, there remain many uncertainties resulting from the global health crisis and the concurrent business interruption, and we hope this is only a short-term situation,” he added.
“Our teams are set up to work from home and carry on business as efficiently as possible,” said Madar. “While the duration, scale, spread and conclusion of the coronavirus are beyond our control, we are well prepared financially and operationally to withstand the resulting business downturn and to return to normalized operations once the health crisis is largely resolved.”
Inter Parfums entered 2020 with $253 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, and only $10.7 million of long-term debt. At the same time, the quarterly dividend of $0.33 will be paid on time on April 15, 2020.
“Operationally, we are preparing for increased demand in the post-COVID-19 environment, with business in Asia already showing signs of a comeback,” observed Madar. “Of note, we have seen a resumption of more normalized sales levels in South Korea and China, with internet sales especially strong. We are gearing up to be prepared to rapidly fill the distribution channels once the crisis is behind us. In that regard, we have maintained reasonable inventory levels of components and finished goods, and are gaining local market intelligence from our distributors and production capacity data from our suppliers.”
Madar concluded that Inter Parfums is fundamentally strong and he is confident that with its portfolio of prestige brands, financial wherewithal, global distribution network and dedicated staff and partners throughout the world, Inter Parfums will once again grow and thrive.
“However, there remain many uncertainties resulting from the global health crisis and the concurrent business interruption, and we hope this is only a short-term situation,” he added.
