COPENHAGEN, May 5 — Jewellery maker Pandora reported a 41 per cent decline in first-quarter operating profit today but said it was encouraged by higher online sales and the reopening of stores in Germany and some other some countries.

Some 90 per cent of its 2,746 stores were shut during the quarter due to the coronavirus lockdowns, the Copenhagen-based company said.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has had a material negative impact on the financial performance in the quarter, initially in China and subsequently in all other key markets during March,” Pandora said in a statement.

Its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and excluding restructuring costs were 638 million Danish crowns (RM403.84 million), which topped the 622 million crowns expected by 11 analysts in a poll compiled by Pandora.

Pandora said it had secured funding to sustain the closure of all of its physical stores throughout 2020. That included bank credits worth 3 billion crowns and a plan to sell 8 million treasury shares in an accelerated bookbuild.

Pandora withdrew its financial guidance for 2020 and halted a planned share buyback in mid-March. — Reuters