Prada Group’s net revenues grew 17 per cent on a constant currency basis in the year ended 31 December 2024 to €5.4 billion, far outpacing the market and beating analyst consensus by 2 per cent.
The strong results come amid rumours that the group is the frontrunner to acquire Versace from Capri Holdings. Group CEO Andrea Guerra declined to comment on the rumours in the earnings call, but responded to a question about whether Prada is in a better position to make an acquisition than it was in the late ’90s and early 2000s, when Prada made a number of acquisitions (including Church’s, Helmut Lang and Jil Sander) to varying degrees of success. “A number of things are different. Many years have passed, [we are a] different company with a different scale and different team,” he said.
Guerra also commented on how he evaluates acquisition targets. “On one side, we are totally focused on our brands from day to night and night to day. On the other side, you never decide when things come around, and always look at them — I think you would have to be arrogant not to look at them,” he added.
Along with its Italian heritage, part of the reason Prada has been considered a potential acquirer is that it is one of few luxury groups in a strong position right now. In comparison, Kering and LVMH both suffered more during the luxury slowdown. “We are happy with our set of numbers, and even more happy to have reached these milestones on our evolutionary journey,” said Guerra. “There are many things we need to improve, but what is important is that we have been able to, for another year, keep disciplined and be consistent.”
It was a record year for Miu Miu, with retail sales up 93 per cent. As a result, Miu Miu now accounts for 25 per cent of Prada Group’s business as of 2024, compared with 15 per cent the previous year, and has passed the €1 billion sales milestone. “We have accelerated investments behind Miu Miu in all directions. We have a new design for our stores, we have new people that have joined and we have promoted from within,” said Guerra. However, the exec highlighted that he is not a “dreamer” and does not expect that spike to last forever. “We are working day and night to make this growth trajectory the most sustainable for the long term,” he said.
Prada, on the other hand, saw more conservative growth of 4 per cent year-on-year, which Guerra highlighted was on top of a challenging comparison. In Q4, sales grew 84 per cent year-on-year.
The group’s EBIT was €1.28 billion in 2024 (compared with €1.06 last year), with a margin of 23.6 per cent (compared with 22.5 per cent last year). Gross margin declined 60 basis points to 79.8 per cent in 2024, but was relatively stable excluding currency exchange impacts.
In Asia-Pacific, sales grew 13 per cent despite the challenging market conditions. Sales in Europe grew 18 per cent, thanks to a combination of local and tourist spending, as did the Middle East, which grew 26 per cent. Japan grew 46 per cent thanks to strong domestic demand. The Americas were up 9 per cent (and improved to 11 per cent year-on-year growth in Q4).
Guerra expects market challenges in 2025, but is confident about Prada’s trajectory. “Our priorities are unchanged, our ambition is unchanged and we are working as hard as we can to generate solid, sustainable and above-market growth,” he said. “It will require great effort, we will make our own mistakes and we will have some ups and downs; but all in all, we are ready to overcome another not-easy year for the industry.”
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