Following the approval of the Annual Accounts by the Supervisory Board on 12 April 2022 and the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting held on 25 May 2022, ECCO Sko A/S is releasing its Annual Report for 2021.
ECCO posted a profit before tax of EUR 42.8m, in line with the 2020 result, which is considered satisfactory given the challenges in 2021.
Good improvements were achieved in 2021 vs. 2020. ECCO saw broad-based growth across all regions and across business segments. Sales grew by 11.5% to EUR 1,218m, and the operating margin increased to 6.9% from 4.6% in 2020.
Investments remained high in 2021 with EUR 90m invested, a large share into accelerating the digitalisation of ECCO.
Furthermore, as a measure to streamline the business, ECCO focused on reducing working capital and securing a stronger balance sheet on which to grow and to invest in the future.
Cash from operating activities increased to EUR 185m from EUR 32m in 2020. Improvements on working capital were a positive contributor to the increase in operational cashflow.
The Group balance sheet ended the year with total assets of EUR 1,419m and a Group share of equity amounting to EUR 498m with a solvency ratio of 35.1%.
COVID-19 disrupted production in ECCO’s factories. Supply chains were significantly affected. Freight rates increased to historic heights and delays were frequent. In spite of this, ECCO managed to return to growth.
Concerning 2022, though the outbreak of war in Ukraine in February 2022 is expected to significantly impact ECCO’s business in Eastern Europe, ECCO expects markets in general to maintain a positive growth compared to 2021. New challenges are continuing into 2022 primarily within the supply chain, inflation in general, and in material prices and higher freight costs in particular. The COVID-19 impact is expected to continue to subside.
25 May 2022