Business & Money | Thursday 11 May, 2017 4:00 am |

L’azurde Company for Jewellery (“L’azurde” or “the Company”), the largest gold and jewelry designer, manufacturer, distributor and retailer in the Middle East, announced today interim consolidated financial and operational results for the quarter ended 31st March 2017.

The Company reported operating revenues of SAR 121.9m for the first quarter of the year, an increase of 63.5% on revenues generated in the previous quarter Q4 2016 (SAR 75.6m). The increase resulted in a net income of SAR22m, a significant increase on the SAR 0.8m loss the company made in Q4 2016.  The quarter’s increase in revenues and profit can be attributed to higher operating revenues and lower operating expenses.

L’azurde’s retail operation saw positive gains in the first quarter, with total group retail sales increasing at +22% versus last year and sales at L’azurde’s mono-branded shops increasing by 13.9% on the same period in 2016.

 

Commenting on the results, Sélim Chidiac, CEO of L’azurde, said: “I am pleased that we have started this year with a positive base from which we can continue to strengthen the business. We succeeded in launching innovative and exciting collections, through a new multi-celebrity strategy, as well as a more focused digital communication strategy which helped us gain market share and grow revenues across our retail channel and especially at our own mono-branded L’azurde retail stores.

“Whilst revenues and profits are not what they were a year ago, the measures we have put in place to accelerate innovation, improve efficiencies and diversify the company’s revenues begin to bear fruit. With the economy in the Kingdom improving, we are cautiously optimistic for the remainder of the year.”