Farfetch remains silent and cautious about the new date for announcing quarterly results.

Fifteen days have passed since the scheduled but canceled date for the presentation of quarterly results, which has alarmed the market, an official Farfetch source told Lusa this Friday that the publication date of the results has not yet been set.

After two years of profits in 2021 and 2022, thanks to the boom in online retail during the pandemic, the luxury brand sales platform founded in 2008 by José Neves and headquartered in London became the first “Portuguese unicorn” (“startup” to receive high estimate) of more than a billion euros) – returned to losses over the past four quarters.

In the second quarter of this year, the company reported a loss of 258 million euros ($281.3 million), compared with a profit of 62 million euros ($67.6 million) in the same period last year, with revenue falling to 526 million euros ($572 million compared to $579 million in the same period last year) and group adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) deteriorated to negative €28 million (minus $30.5 million).

Farfetch’s most recent earnings presentation for the third quarter of this year was scheduled for November 29, when news from a strategy and management perspective was also expected, but was canceled by the company, citing a “timely” data update. shop.

“The company expects to provide a market update in due course,” it said in a brief note issued at the time. “It will not provide any forecasts or guidance at this time and any previous forecasts or recommendations should not be relied upon,” it adds.

An official Farfetch source contacted by Lusa did not give a new date for the presentation of quarterly results, confirming the company’s position of “no comment.”

The delay in releasing financial results had an immediate impact on the company’s shares, which plummeted on the New York Stock Exchange, losing half their value and trading below one dollar. On September 21, 2018, the day of its debut on the US Wall Street Stock Exchange, Farfetch shares were priced at $28.45 per unit.

In this context, the British newspaper The Telegraph reported that José Neves will negotiate with investors and bankers to delist the company, counting on the support of partners such as Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and Swiss luxury goods conglomerate Richemont (owner of online fashion site Yoox Net -a-Porter).

Both platforms invested more than $300 million (around €273 million) in Farfetch in November 2020, when Farfetch China launched. Meanwhile, a layoff plan will be under consideration, initially targeting 800 workers, but given the company’s current situation, it is recognized that this could be expanded to 1,700 or 2,000 people, almost 25% of the company’s workforce.

Meanwhile, Farfetch is the subject of a US class action lawsuit filed last October in a Maryland court that alleges the company made “misleading statements” and omitted market-relevant information. harm to investors.

The suit, titled Ragan v. Farfetch Limited, alleges that the company failed to adequately inform those targeted of the downward trajectory in the stock market. Based on this assumption, lawyers have gathered several investors who feel wronged by the alleged securities fraud between March 9 and August 17, 2023, and those scheduled before December 19, to join the action promoted by the firm Levi & Korsinsky .

Despite this, already considered a Portuguese “former unicorn” (the company would now be valued at less than $300 million) recently attracted a new investor, millionaire Steven Cohen, owner of the New York Mets baseball team, who, along with Point72 Asset Management and other related entities, acquired 5.1% shares of Farfetch.

In Portugal, there are still concerns that the company’s current situation could jeopardize the completion of the Fuse Valley real estate project in Lesa do Balio, in the municipality of Matosinhos, a mega-investment of 200 million euros shared with the construction company Braga Castro Group. , which involves the construction of a technology investment center on a site next to the EN14 highway (Via Norte).

The first phase of the project was originally expected to open in late 2025, but as the promoter said in March last year, the opening of the first phase of the project has been pushed back to the second half of 2026/January 2027, reflecting a delay in the licensing process. The remaining two phases of the project are expected to be completed between 2027 and 2030.

The project involves the construction of 24 buildings that will house offices, housing, a hotel and various services. Matosinhos City Council estimates that 12,000 skilled jobs will be created in the service and information technology sectors, with “significant” job creation supported by the eventual arrival of new residents.

A “substantial” portion of the offices will be occupied by Farfetch, and the hotel will have 70 rooms and occupy an area of ​​12,000 square meters, where several common spaces are planned, such as spaces for events, congresses, and “co-working” spaces. premises and spa.

Last Wednesday, the economy minister said he was “closely monitoring what’s going on” at Farfetch, saying the company “has ups and downs.”

According to Eco, Antonio Costa Silva expressed hope that the situation “can stabilize and Farfetch can return to what it was before”: “It was one of our great unicorns,” he said.