Pandora said today that new coronavirus lockdown measures had forced it to close a quarter of its stores at the beginning of the year, even as it raised full-year earnings guidance for the second time in less than two weeks.
Pandora is the world's biggest jewellery maker.
It said consumers had shifted spending away from travelling and services to jewellery in the fourth quarter.
But it added that a recent escalation of the Covid-19 pandemic had created greater uncertainty about sales this year.
The company said in a statement that it expects organic growth of around minus 11% for 2020, compared to guidance in late-December of "at least 1 percentage point better than the high end of the guidance range of -14% to -17%."
The EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) margin is expected at around 20%, compared to the 17.5%-19% guidance range in late-December, it said.
While around 10% of physical stores on average were temporarily closed during the fourth quarter, the company had now shut 25% of its 2,700 stores worldwide.
Pandora is scheduled to publish full 2020 earnings on February 4.
