Prada points to rising profits ahead of HK IPO
Italian fashion house Prada saw its net profit double in 2010 and expects further gains in the current half year, it said in a regulatory filing as it prepares for an initial public offering in Hong Kong.
The IPO of about 14 per cent of its shares will value the Milan-based fashion house at around $2bn (£1bn) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The company expects to post a profit of at least €150.7m (£132m) for the six months to July, according to its filing.
Net income doubled to €253.6m in the year to January 2011, compared with 2010, the filing showed.
The listing of the remaining 86 per cent of its stock will come in a secondary offering from shareholders Prada Holding BV and Intesa Sanpaolo.
Prada will use the proceeds from its Hong Kong IPO to expand and renovate stores over the next 18 months.
The fashion house, run by Patrizio Bertelli and designer Miuccia Prada, has about a third of its 326 stores in Asia-Pacific, its fastest growing market.
The company has scrapped an IPO four times in the past ten years and could raise more money through a primary listing in Hong Kong than in Milan because individual investors are more active in Asia, according to experts.
Prada was founded by head designer Miuccia Prada’s grandfather, Mario Prada, in 1913.