Trumpeting higher store traffic, Pandora reported organic revenues gained 15 percent in its fiscal second quarter to 6.77 billion Danish kronor, or $991.7 million at current exchange.
The preliminary numbers, released Monday evening, beat overall analysts’ expectations, but a 5 percent like-for-like gain in the U.S. signaled a “sequential slowdown,” according to Citi analyst Thomas Chauvet, who awarded the Copenhagen-based jeweler a silver instead of a gold for its quarterly performance.
Like-for-like sales gained 8 percent overall, with Europe tracking at 10 percent and the rest of the world at 13 percent. Its core charms business improved a slim 2 percent, while noncharms increased 31 percent, according to Citi’s tallies. bumped up its annual revenue guidance to 8 to 10 percent in May when it reported 18 percent organic growth in the first fiscal quarter.
The jeweler now expects organic growth to come in between 9 and 12 percent. It flagged a record gross margin of 80.2 percent, crediting its vertically integrated business model, price increases and cost efficiencies.
“Our strategy continues to take Pandora to new heights despite general consumer spending being somewhat sluggish,” Alexander Lacik, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. “We have successfully started the journey to make Pandora known as a full jewelry brand, and our results show that consumers like what they see. Thanks to our strong performance, we are again raising revenue.