Prada posts operating profit for 2020 after H2 rebound fuelled by China

Italian fashion brand Prada has revealed that it closed 2020 with an operating profit after a strong performance in the second half of the year cancelled out the downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The luxury fashion group, based in Milan, published the unscheduled business update prior to disclosing its full-year results in March as a means of quashing uncertainty created by the global crisis, and claimed that despite the pandemic leading to a €196m operating loss ($240.5m) in the first half of the year, strong sales in the Americas, the Middle East, Russia and Asia Pacific in H2 saw the brand bounce back.

Of particular note was Prada's performance in China, where sales saw a 52 per cent increase driven mainly by younger customers.

"Despite being impacted by ongoing store closures averaging 9% of the network, [Prada] saw a progressive recovery in sales, culminating for the retail sales in a full recovery to 2019 levels in the month of December," the company said in the statement. 

Patrizio Bertelli, Prada’s chief executive, added that he was "very satisfied with how we have faced the serious difficulties of the year just ended", and noted that "despite the persistent uncertainty which will likely continue for the next months, we have managed to deliver positive results".

"Thanks to the generous commitment of all group staff, we were able to respond rapidly and consistently to market changes, which has been appreciated by all of our customers," he said.