By Joshua Kirby

Kering reported 2020 earnings today. Here are the highlights:

Sales: Revenue at the French luxury-goods group came in slightly below analyst expectations at EUR13.10 billion.

Net profit: Net profit was EUR2.15 billion for 2020, down from EUR2.31 billion in 2019 but beating analyst expectations of EUR1.74 billion.

WHAT WE WATCHED:

-GUCCI: As expected, Kering's most important brand lagged overall performance. Gucci sales were down 23% on the year, versus 18% for the group, including a 10% drop in the year's fourth quarter. For comparison, rival brands Dior and Louis Vuitton drove LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton's soft-luxury division to double-digit growth in the same period. However, it is worth noting that these figures include a 33% decline in wholesale amid an ongoing rationalization strategy.

-OTHER BRANDS: Bottega Veneta was among the best of the rest for Kering, posting positive growth of 3.7% for the year, including a 16% rise in the year's final quarter. Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen also booked revenue growth in the full year, and Chief Financial Officer Jean-Marc Duplaix noted in a call with media that the group's "less mature" brands have promising prospects for further growth.

-WINTER PROGRESS: Despite Gucci's faltering and a new wave of store closures, Kering didn't book a significant sequential downturn in the fourth quarter, with a 4.8% revenue decline similar to the figure for the third quarter.

Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@dowjones.com; @joshualeokirby

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-17-21 0245ET