Jeweller Pandora slightly raises outlook and speeds up launches

By Alessandro Parodi and Stine Jacobsen

PARIS, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Jewellery maker Pandora edged higher its near-term revenue and profitability targets on Wednesday, saying it expected a boost in demand from new collections and a shift to platinum-plated products. 

Its Copenhagen-listed shares opened up 8% and by 0830 GMT were 6.7% higher, outperforming a flat pan-European STOXX index.

As it strives to keep its brand affordable, Pandora has accelerated launches and moved most of its marketing online. It has also continued the transition announced in February to platinum-plated jewellery to limit the effect of high silver prices on the cost of solid silver bracelets.

"We are expanding into more designs, more styles, while we are also refreshing our traditional and heritage designs," Pandora Chief Executive Berta de Pablos-Barbier told Reuters.

PLATINUM-PLATED COMES TO NEW MARKETS

Silver prices have dropped from a January peak of $121 per ounce to about $50 per ounce, but remain higher than historic averages.

Platinum is more expensive than silver, but Pandora uses a much smaller amount for plating over a metal alloy core, making the end cost more predictable and easing pressure on margins.

Following a pilot for platinum-plated jewels in the Netherlands, Pandora said on Wednesday it would expand sales of the range into markets including the US, Britain and Australia.

The pilot "confirmed that our initial assumptions about consumer acceptance were there," de Pablos-Barbier said. 

MARKETING CUT HELPS PROFITABILITY

Pandora, whose charm bracelets start at $80, said it expects organic sales growth of between 2% and 3% in 2026, against guidance in August of 0% to 3%. 

Its third-quarter organic revenue rose 6% to 6.69 billion crowns ($1 billion), beating a mean forecast of 6.58 billion in a poll of analysts provided by Pandora. 

The company said a reduction in promotional activity helped its quarterly operating profit margins, which rose to 15.9%, beating analyst expectations for 13.1%.

It expects a full-year operating profit margin of 22.5% to 23%, against 22% to 23% previously, and a 2027 margin of 14% to 15% when including one-offs. 

($1 = 6.6544 Danish crowns)

(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi in Paris and Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen, editing by Barbara Lewis)