Comparison of Actual and Forecast Business Performance

HUGO BOSS looks back on a successful business performance in fiscal year 2023, recording strong top- and bottom-line improvements. This development, first and foremost, reflects our robust brand momentum, fueled by the continued successful execution of our “CLAIM 5” growth strategy. With both BOSS and HUGO continuing their market-share-winning growth trajectories globally, we achieved record sales of EUR 4.2 billion in 2023, representing currency-adjusted growth of 18%. Consequently, sales crossed the EUR 4 billion threshold for the first time in the history of HUGO BOSS, thus exceeding our initial 2025 sales target two years ahead of plan. Growth was once more broad-based in nature, with both our brands, all regions, as well as all distribution channels recording double-digit growth. Driven by the strong top-line momentum, we also recorded robust bottom-line improvements, with EBIT up 22% to EUR 410 million. HUGO BOSS thus successfully achieved its full-year 2023 sales and earnings targets, which had been revised upwards twice during the course of the year. Consequently, 2023 marked another important milestone in the successful execution of “CLAIM 5” and towards achieving our mid-term financial ambition, which we raised in mid-2023. Our business performance is all the more remarkable considering the high level of macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty in fiscal year 2023, including elevated inflation and interest rate levels, weakening global consumer sentiment, and mounting geopolitical tensions.

The successful execution of several brand, product, and distribution initiatives as part of “CLAIM 5” further spurred our operational and financial performance in 2023. In line with our strategic claim “Boost Brands,” we continued to build on our strong brand momentum following the comprehensive brand refresh of BOSS and HUGO in 2022. In the past fiscal year, several important marketing initiatives, above all our highly successful 360° brand campaigns, continued to attract new and younger consumers worldwide while also strongly engaging our existing customer base. Exciting brand events further fueled brand momentum for BOSS and HUGO in 2023. At the same time, as part of our strategic claim “Product is Key,” we continued to put strong emphasis on further enhancing both brands’ 24/7 lifestyle images, thus aiming at perfectly dressing our customers for every occasion. In this context, we have built on the BOSS Black, BOSS Orange, BOSS Green, and the exclusive BOSS Camel brand lines, thus strongly gaining visibility and penetration at the point of sale. At the same time, at HUGO, we strengthened our denimwear offering with the introduction of HUGO BLUE, launched in early 2024. We also achieved important successes with regards to our two strategic claims “Lead in Digital” and “Drive Omnichannel.” To these ends, our Digital Campus, physically inaugurated in Porto (Portugal) last year, put strong emphasis on further strengthening our global online business by improving the e-commerce experience. Among other things, the Campus drove the successful relaunch of the hugoboss.com app, thereby further enhancing the omnichannel experience. At the same time, we continued to modernize and optimize our global store network, including the rollout of our latest BOSS and HUGO store concepts to significantly elevate the customer experience, thus bringing the total number of refreshed freestanding stores worldwide to around 200. This also includes our world’s best-selling BOSS store in Dubai Mall. In line with our claim “Organize for Growth,” we made further important progress in 2023 towards driving meaningful efficiencies along our value chain, enabling us to meet customer demand even more effectively. In this context, we further pushed ahead with implementing our important Digital TWIN initiative, a smart and tech-driven business operations platform, intended to further increase the flexibility and transparency of our supply chain. On top of that, to support long-term growth, we are in the process of expanding our global logistics capacities in the coming years. This also includes the strategic expansion of one of our key logistic hubs near our headquarters in Metzingen (Germany) initiated in late 2023. Group Strategy

In the wake of the rigorous execution of our “CLAIM 5” strategy, HUGO BOSS recorded a strong business performance throughout the entire year. Following an exceptionally strong start to the year, we increased our initial full-year 2023 sales and earnings forecast together with the publication of our first quarter results in May 2023. The continued strong top- and bottom-line momentum in the second quarter prompted HUGO BOSS to raise its full-year sales and earnings forecast again in August. Despite the increasingly challenging market environment, we were able to maintain our robust momentum in the second half of the year, thus successfully achieving our twice-raised sales and earnings targets for fiscal year 2023.

Group sales in full-year 2023 increased by 18% on a currency-adjusted basis. In Group currency, sales grew by 15% to a record level of EUR 4,197 million (2022: EUR 3,651 million), thus at the upper end of the most recent guidance range that projected revenues to increase within a range of 12% to 15% to a level of between EUR 4.1 billion and EUR 4.2 billion. Growth in 2023 was broad-based with both our brands, BOSS and HUGO, as well as all regions and distribution channels recording double-digit growth. Earnings Development, Sales Performance

At the same time, HUGO BOSS recorded robust bottom-line improvements in fiscal year 2023, with the strong top-line performance more than compensating for further investments into the business as part of “CLAIM 5” as well as a slight decline in gross margin. Consequently, the Group’s operating profit (EBIT) increased by 22% to an amount of EUR 410 million in fiscal year 2023 (2022: EUR 335 million), thus fully in line with the Company’s most recent guidance of an increase between 20% and 25% to a level of between EUR 400 million and EUR 420 million. As a result, EBIT margin expanded by 60 basis points to a level of 9.8% (2022: 9.2%). Accordingly, the Group’s net income also increased by 22% to EUR 270 million in fiscal year 2023 (2022: EUR 222 million). Earnings Development, Income Statement

Trade net working capital (TNWC) as a percentage of sales increased to 20.8% (2022: 15.0%), thus broadly in line with our most recent guidance of around 20%. This increase compared to the prior-year period first and foremost reflects a higher inventory position, which aims to support the robust top-line momentum across channels. At the same time, an increase in trade receivables as well as lower trade payables also contributed to this development. Net Assets

In 2023, capital expenditure increased by 55% to EUR 298 million and thus came in at the upper end of the most recent guidance range of between EUR 250 million and EUR 300 million (2022: EUR 192 million). The step-up in capital expenditure aims to support the successful execution of “CLAIM 5,” first and foremost by accelerating investments in our global store network. At the same time, we put strong emphasis on the further digitalization of our business model and the expansion of our logistics capacities as well as headquarters. Financial Position, Capital Expenditure

In fiscal year 2023, free cash flow amounted to EUR 96 million (2022: EUR 166 million), and thus came in slightly below the prior-year level, as improvements in EBIT were more than offset by the step-up in capital expenditure. Financial Position, Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows