Good evening. This is Chorus Call. Welcome to the Presentation of the First Half Results of 2022 of the Brunello Cucinelli Group. Please note that all participants are in the listening mode only. After the initial presentation, you will have the possibility of asking questions, the analysts will have the chance of asking questions. The speakers will be Brunello Cucinelli, Executive Chairman and Creative Director, Riccardo Stefanelli, CEO, Moreno Ciarapica, CFO, and Pietro Arnaboldi, Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Planning. To receive assistance from an operator during the conference call, please dial star followed by zero. Now let me hand over to Brunello Cucinelli, please.
Good evening, good evening and welcome. Welcome back. First of all, I'd like to point out that we're not a group, so I would like to correct Riccardo . What we're saying, we are a factory, we are an S.p.A. Jokes apart, welcome back. I hope you had the chance of having a break and resting. As usual, analysts and financial analysts and journalists joining our calls. Calls for us are always very important, and for me, they are even more important. They are serious events, but also beautiful events. Like the last call, we had the last one in July, then we're going to have another one in mid-October with the nine months results.
Finally, we will have the final call in early December after the board meeting, because we have a board meeting in December that we call strategic. This year, again, we would like to organize a call after the board meeting, and then next year, if everything goes back to normal, we are going to have four calls instead of six, hopefully. How is the call going to take place? As usual, Moreno will read out the numbers, and then we will focus on the big picture. I will focus on the big picture on general data. There is also an important topic we would like to deal with.
We are going to talk about these couple of months and how things are going, what we can envisage for 2023. Spring/summer collections, men's wear is over, the women's wear campaign is almost over. We will give you a picture for 2023. We would like to talk about the great value of the factory, the great value of training and craftsmanship, values that are very important for us. This is even more so in this very moment. A couple of information on training, and the last couple of minutes will be devoted to the great value of Italy from the viewpoint of the social, economic, and political setting, because I often hear some Italians talking about Italy, and I disagree with them.
I have a totally different idea about Italy. Let me focus on numbers. Turnover is well known to you. Net revenues EUR 415 million, up 32% at current exchange rate, 28%. Sorry, at constant exchange rate, 28%. A very important growth in all geographical areas. Americas, +52%, Asia, 27%, Europe, 20%, Italy, almost 20%. In both sales channels, with retail up 47% and wholesale, our beloved wholesale, up 16%. EBITDA is equal to EUR 120 million, up 48% versus EUR 80 million as of last year. EBIT, EUR 57 million, up 128% versus EUR 25 million last year. Net profit equal to EUR 50 million, up 131% versus EUR 21 million last year.
We have to point out that the first half of last year was highly impacted. Important investments in line with our three-year planning equal to EUR 36 million as of June 30, in favor of the contemporary nature, hopefully of our Casa di Moda, and of our beautiful factory, while drawing inspiration from my dear friend, Leonardo Del Vecchio, who before dying, said to his son how beautiful our factory is. This has remained in my heart, and that's why we want to call our factory a beautiful factory. Added to this value is the acquisition of EUR 15 million invested in the acquisition of 43% stake in the prestigious Lanificio Cariaggi Cashmere, our long-term supplier.
On Thursday night, we have an annual meeting with your staff. They are about 170, and these are people with very important hands. The company's solid structure supports the multi-year investment plan with characteristic net financial debt amounting to EUR 63 million. This is what I've said, while I've been reflective upon this very much, but you will find a central part that I'm really very fond of and that we will discuss in December too. The first half closed with excellent results in terms of both growth and profit. On the back of this, we envisage a record year 2022, with revenue growth of around 15%.
During the pandemic, companies in our country, thanks to national social safety nets and wise and humanistic entrepreneurial choices, have generally managed not to lay off their staff and thus preserve the production and marketing and distribution of their products. Today, it seems to us that for certain products, demand undoubtedly exceeds supply, which means that we Italians, great quality manufacturers, have become better at producing and manufacturing top-notch quality goods and consequently exporting them. There is no doubt that a strong U.S. dollar and a weak euro, but there are other strong currencies, but so there's no doubt that a strong U.S. dollar brings remarkable advantages to exports, and our sector will benefit therefrom.
Very important is the order intake for spring/summer men's, women's 2023. That was really very good , because men's is over, women's is about to be concluded. Great order intake, both in terms of quantity and of image. All this makes us look forward to a year 2023 with a full 10% growth in sales. Now, Moreno, you will go through the details of the numbers, and then we will go back to our nice discussion.
Thank you, Brunello. Good evening to everyone, and really welcome back. I will briefly comment on the main financial dynamics related to the first half of the year, and I will then be available for questions during the Q&A session. I will slow down a little bit, please slow down a little bit for translation. The first half of 2022 reported excellent results, confirmed our plan.
Let me go to the slide number 11 of the presentation that you have. The very important growth in results with revenue growth of 32.4% has perfectly absorbed the transient effect of the pandemic on the important cost lines. This is our decision to preserve the structure, keeping the investment decisions and the activities planned unchanged. The first margin has a positive and significant change, moving from 66.8% of last year to 71.7%, thanks to the positive contribution of the sales mix and the foreign exchange dynamics. As for the sales mix, the positive impact is related to the channel mix, with the weight of retail moving from 52.7% to 58.7%, with 117 DOS as of the 3rd of June , 2022 versus 112 in 2021.
The mix of geographical areas in the presence of a growth in America, +52.7%, Asia, 27.2%, which is higher than the growth in Europe and in Italy equal to about 20%. As a matter of fact, the markup differentials of the geographical areas favor the gross margin with a neutral impact on the operating margin because they are , well these markups basically cover the additional marketing costs, among which transportation and customs duties, for example. The third dynamic is the product mix. The positive impact on the first margin is also favored by the increasing focus of our customers on special garments.
We are also awarded by the search for products with a higher value and content. There is the dynamic related to foreign exchange rates. The positive dynamics, +4% at current exchange rate, as previously communicated, favor a positive impact on the first margin. As you know, our industrial costs are expressed in euro. Consistently with that, the same dynamics of the currency impact negatively on some overheads. The part of costs in foreign exchange produced abroad that are increased due to the dynamics of the current exchange rates. The operational costs are also linked to trade activities, to investments for expansion, the retail channel and the digital channel. Let's now move to slide number 14 , with the costs.
Staff costs supporting new commercial initiatives, expansion of the network, and consolidation processes of activities increased by 74% versus EUR 65 million in 2021. We have a headcount moving from 2,000 as of the 30th of June to 2,250. The relative incidence is equal to 18.9% as of the 30th of June 2022 versus 19.7% in 2021, June the 30th. Please note that in 2019 it was equal to 18.5%. Net of the IFRS 16 effect on leasing, the cost of rents that is anticipated follows the dynamics of opening is equal to EUR 61.3 million versus EUR 54.4 million as of June the 30th, 2021.
The incidence of rents net of the IFRS 16 effect is equal to 14.8%. It was equal to 17.3% in June 2021, so up or above the 13.4% of the first half of 2019 due to new flagship stores, extension of boutiques, and opening of spaces that we have called Casa Cucinelli, with important dedicated areas that are not directly connected to sales, but rather to enhancing the value of our idea of hospitality. The current incidence equal to 15% of rent is representative for the entire year. The investments in communication are still very important from a strategic viewpoint. Among these, investments related to boutique events have recovered since the second half of 2021.
Investments in communication are equal to EUR 20.4 million versus EUR 14.4 million in June 2021, with an incidence of 4.9% as of 30th of June, 2022 versus 4.4% last year. Please note that structurally, communication activities for events are stronger in the second half than in the first half of the year. Based on these dynamics, EBITDA net of the IFRS 16 effect, as you can read in slide number 11, is equal to EUR 75.3 million versus EUR 39.9 million in June 2021, with a margin equal to 18.1%, this is improving, versus a 12.7% last year, and it is up from 17.3% in 2019 before the pandemic.
As for the positive value of the net financial income in the first half of 2022, you can see the detail in the slide 24 that we have prepared in the presentation, because this is quite abnormal versus the normality. The financial management in its complexity has benefited in this six months from various aspects, for example, the accounting of the transaction related to the purchase of the 43% stake in Cariaggi, and the positive difference equal to EUR 4.7 million between the purchase price of the stake and the net equity value based on the financial statements approved in 2022. Moreover, another important effect is related to the foreign exchange dynamics.
Due to the weakness of the euro as of the 30th of June, 2022, that leads to a strong and extraordinary positive impact in the first six months of 2022 due to unrealized gains on currency exchange rates due to the effects of the IFRS 16 principle. This very strong positive impact will probably be diluted in the second part of the year, both due to the trend in foreign exchange rate in the second half of 2021 and based on the estimates of authoritative financial institutions with their outlooks on December 2022. EUR 56.5 million is the net profit as of the end of the first half.
I'd like to point out the tax rate in the first half, at 27.4%, and this benefits from the reduced tax rate on financial gains, EUR 4.7 million, related to the valuation of the stake in Cariaggi, as aforementioned. The tax rate normalized would be equal to 29.6%, consistent with a tax base of 29% that we can envisage for the end of the year. This is typical for an Italian company that generate most of its profits in Italy. Let's now move to the balance sheet and to some comments on the working capital, on the trade working capital, slide number 16.
The incidence on the rolling sales is equal to 25.3% versus the EUR 208 million in June 2021, with a relative incidence equal to 31.9%. The trend in inventories and its incidence on the rolling sales moves from 32% in 2021 to 29.9% in June 30, 2022, and benefits for the important sell out with an increase in absolute terms from EUR 208 million to EUR 243 million. This is related to business performance, and new trade initiatives , and the expansion of business in the digital channel. Trade receivables are equal to EUR 75 million. Despite the presence of a significant growth in turnover, retail and wholesale revenues have increased by 16% in the first half of 2022.
Trade payables organically increase due to the business trend and due to important purchases carried out in the first half of 2022. Raw materials and façonné in particular. Slide 17 points out the important investments in the first half of EUR 36.6 million. This reflects our desire to keep the image of our Casa di Moda modern and contemporary. To these investments, we have purchasing costs equal to EUR 15 million for the 43% stake in the prestigious Lanificio Cariaggi. The characteristic net debt, financial debt, and this is slide 18, is equal to EUR 63.8 million in 2022 versus EUR 96.3 million in 2021 that were still impacted by the effect of the pandemic.
Please note that the value as of the 30th of June structurally represents the peak of exposure for the net financial position. Due to the seasonality of sales, it will then be reduced by the December the 31st. This is the end of my speech, and I will give back the floor to Brunello.
You can clearly imagine that we are very happy with the results achieved. Now, I would like to go back to the important figures in 2022. The sales in these two months, July and August, are going very well, and the sell-out of the fall winter collections 2022 is very positive. I must say that we had already imagined this trend back in January, February, when the collection was released. We always say that if a collection has a special judgment, receives a special judgment from other brands and the press, we can always be successful. Now, let us try to express a personal judgment. We discussed this morning during the board meeting.
We had the impression that the demand for certain things that are high quality, unique and exclusive exceeds the supply in this moment. Undoubtedly, during the two years of the pandemic, the fact of not laying off nobody in the world, nor in the production or in sales, allow us now to tackle and cope with this high demand. This is interesting because this morning in the press, we read with the utmost pleasure that our partners, Luxottica, that we estimate a lot, well, they are asking their workers to work in September, too, on Saturdays in September, in order to carry out the deliveries.
This is a very nice piece of news for Italy, for us and for Luxottica. We consider 2022 as a year of total rebalancing with a strong growth in sales after two years of pandemic. It's true, we have been going through two years when in 2020 we lost 10% and in 2021 we recovered 30%. The end of 2022 is planned with a sound EBITDA equal to 18%. We will keep our strong investments unchanged, as it has always been the case, equal to 8%. To tell you the truth, well, in order to have modern stores and showrooms, investments must be high. Very sound is, in our opinion, the management of inventories equal to 29%.
Net financial position, well, we are almost without liabilities, and that's true. We also have a solid and sound company structure, which is almost equal to half of the turnover in terms of net equity. Another important remark, I think we talked about this during the last call, and this has been true since I'm a younger entrepreneur. We've always generated three budgets. The one is the highest with very few changes in humanity. The second, which is the most trustworthy and the most real, with normal changes in the world that always takes place. This could be the case this year.
We have a third budget, which is the most critical one, with important changes in 2020 during the pandemic and in 2008. We also developed a fourth and a fifth budget, but this is something extraordinary, and this has always been the culture that we apply to our budgets. The relationships with the territory, with the surrounding area. This is something we want to point out, and this is our willingness. We always want to express ourselves with the surrounding area to provide them with our vision. Also in moments of difficulty, often, we are recommended that we do not have to expose ourselves too much.
We live here, and we feel we have a moral duty to express our thought. It would be difficult to say we're listed on the stock exchange, we cannot speak, although we have public managers and other people who are asking us how things are going. We may make some forecasts wrong, but we think this is the right way to go because somehow we wanted to feel as a small reference point for our community. Now 60 seconds only to repeat what we mean by luxury, because this is something that we see and we also see in the collections, as I will tell you in a minute. We see that people are looking for somehow special products.
Our idea of luxury is about products that are very well done, so with high craftsmanship and manual work. It must be a very exclusive product, and exclusivity is the great topic of real luxury. As a third element, this item can be passed over to following generations. You may buy a beautiful car for your grandchildren, a nice bicycle, a cashmere coat, or a vicuña blanket. This was just to repeat our idea. Riccardo is laughing for vicuña because you find just 200 kg per year of high quality vicuña. Well, you know, when we calculate the cost, a coat costs $25,000. In the past, only kings used to wear vicuña coats.
I think 2022, I hope 2022 is clear to you. The idea is that there's a very strong demand that, in our opinion, exceeds the supply. This is an important topic. This is our personal viewpoint. Don't forget this. Spring/summer 2023 collection. Menswear is over. We've almost concluded womenswear, and we've recorded a very special result, both in terms of numbers and from the viewpoint of our image. People are looking for increasingly special, unique, and of course, expensive items. Well, because 52% of our garments are manufactured manually. What we like very much is that collections are perceived as younger looking, chic, and contemporary.
When the collections are perceived as young looking, you know that I'm really fond of products. If a collection is not fresh, you may have some difficulties or problems. Let me share a nice thing. We cannot reveal the source, but today we were informed that in 2022 we will receive from our beloved China a wonderful prize. As a designer in China for arts, culture and fashion. We are very pleased, and I think that this will be reiterated in March, based on the possibilities. This could allow the brand to reach what we reached last year in 2021 with the Designer of the Year award.
We really wanted to share this with you because we're very happy about this piece of news. Now, a couple of words on the great value of our factory. Here, let me use the adjective beautiful, as Leonardo Del Vecchio used to say. Normally, as you know, we strongly believe in the factory, in production, in manufacturing. Factory plans have always been of six, eight or 10 years. The last plan lasted from 2000 to 2009. We had the last plan between 2015 and 2024. By December, we're going to talk about our factory from 2025 onwards, year after year. This is one aspect. Now the great value of schools.
I said we would meet some newspapers and magazines. We had a nice conversation. Now, thanks to press, we have a lot of applications from students wanting to attend these schools. This is a project for the next five, 10, 20 years for our future artisans. For the next couple of decades, we will be able to train our artisans. We will be able to have craftsmen for the next 30 years. We strongly believe in that. We make a lot of effort. The investment is relative, but we could reap very important results. We have assessed our external production structure beyond 2020, 2021 to see what has happened.
In 2019, we had 367 factories. Now we are 400. We had 5,000 people. Now we have about 6,000 people. This is an important growth. 75% of these people are located in the region of Umbria. Out of these 6,000, 3,800 exclusively work for Cucinelli S.p.A., not for the group, but for S.p.A. As for the rest, the remaining 2,000 , work 50% for us and 50% for these beautiful French brands that we really like very much. This is really very nice, because when we started the listing process, and we are very happy, as you know, you used to say, "But what about the external production structure? Is it able to grow without problems?"
Now we can confirm that it is growing without any problems. We could even say that the short production and supply chain is a great plus for us. I said this morning in the board meeting that we can say we have a sound and very short production and supply chain. The fact of being very short is, in our opinion, an added value. Then labor, work. We discussed this topic extensively this morning. Just five minutes, and then the floor is yours. We discussed the problem of labor a lot. There is a mass phenomenon around the world that I don't think is typical for Italy, and this phenomenon is that of the so-called Great Resignation.
People resigned en masse without having another job, and this has been a problem for the past two years. This morning , we have on the board a woman who is an expert in the field of human resources, and she's responsible for tens of thousands of people. Well, she talked about, and she mentioned another phenomenon, which I did not know, which is the so-called silent resignation. These are people who decided to stay in the company, but they are producing on a limited basis because they were really disappointed by the attitude that the company had during the pandemic.
I also think that many people who are working with this discouraged spirit within the framework of this silent resignation, they are discouraged. I think this also depends, at least partly, on smart working, on remote working. We've always thought that remote working does not allow to foster collective creativity. You no longer separate the professional life or your private life, and the younger generations cannot benefit from it. We can say that we can go back with the utmost pleasure to moral, economic, and human dignity. Just three minutes about the great value of Italy. I'm sure I will not convince you, but, well, even if I'm able to convince 5% of you, this would be a great success, because I'm really fond of Italy.
First of all, let me focus on the social and economic profile. I've always thought that our welfare system is one of the best in the world, and nobody can convince me about the opposite. During the pandemic, and thanks to the social safety nets, we managed not to lay off anybody in general terms. Thus, we have not reduced the manufacturing and marketing abilities of our companies. As I said earlier, the demand for certain items is exceeding the supply, and this means that we have become better in producing top-notch quality products and, as a consequence, export them.
In this very moment, I think Italy is very well positioned, and our value chains are shorter. Not only our value chain is shorter. Do you agree with me? Throughout the years, we've managed to improve our quality and the level of technology significantly, and this is the reason why we think that Italy has a great chance for the years to come. Our sector can really benefit a lot from a strong dollar, as we said. For us, at Cucinelli, America accounts for more than a third of our turnover. Well, everyone prays their own God, as we used to say, when playing cards.
Now, let me focus on the political value of Italy. I like this aspect a lot because I think that we as citizens do represent our political class. Sometimes we say we do not represent it, but I think we do. I'm 68. I've seen 63 governments. The next one will be the 64th. As you may well understand, I'm not concerned about a new government, whatever it will be. I think the alternation in governing a country is always very good. As Pericles said, this avoids tyranny. Let me just clarify one aspect concerning our republic. We have a president who is elected every seven years, but he's very serious, and our constitution is very serious as well.
Many people got inspiration from our constitution. The president of the republic can dissolve the parliament and can even reject the appointment of a minister, as it happened in the past. If a minister or if the president realized that a minister was not well acknowledged by the country, he could decide not to accept this appointment. The president used to govern with 13% consent. In Italy, even though Draghi had 64% consent by the Italian people, had to accept that the conditions were no longer in place to govern. I think that apart from what has been said, I think our country is very credible. Of course, there are temporary keepers that are enlightened and others who are a bit less enlightened.
I'm very fond of our political system, and I think it represents the highest level of democracy that we received from ancient Greece. This democracy gives me the feeling of the utmost freedom of thinking. Now you have the floor as analysts and journalists, and so please believe in Italy. Do not listen too much to those who pretend to know everything about the future. I was watching TV yesterday night, just for a couple of minutes. I don't usually watch TV, and then I switched it off. Well, we are serious people who work in the beautiful manufacturing, contemporary, high quality manufacturing sector.
In our company, we work with dedication, with concentration, with focus, trying to convey esteem to those surrounding us. Let's try and be surprised and happy with what we have achieved after April 2020, when we imagined a sort of end of the world, and now the situation is not bad at all. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Don't be disappointed with my words, but I'm a real supporter of Italy. Now , let's open up for the discussion. Without any further ado, you can also ask very difficult questions that you may think are the most complicated. The operator, Chorus Call. Let's try. Let's start the Q&A session.
If you want to ask a question, please dial star followed by one on your phone. To leave the list, dial star followed by two. Please ask your questions by using the receiver. If you want to ask a question, dial star followed by one now. There will be some moments of silence to allow people to queue for questions. The first question from Andrea Randone, Intermonte, please.
Thank you and good evening to you all. Good evening, Brunello. The first question I have is a general question about the guidance that you have left , kept at 15%. I think it's a visible number. There may be a margin for increasing it. Does this 15% take into account the impact that foreign exchange rates can have in the second part of the year? A very interesting question. A question, another question. I saw your website. Your website is new with a lot of video content, and I see that there is a great care for videos and content. We see that you can book appointments in a boutique from the website.
Considering that this is a theme that is being discussed by other brands, Moncler, for example, talked about this for Korea. Can you please elaborate on that a little bit more, considering that your brand is even more exclusive and that you have a very strong relationship with your customers? How this solution is being developed and how does it impact on the relationship within the framework of Casa Cucinelli? A final question on the collections. Again, men's, women's and children's wear. Also children's wear, considering that this collection has also a certain track record. Can you provide us with some further information on that?
Okay, the 15% guidance. When we develop our budgets, we never consider the exchange rate fluctuations because it becomes too difficult, Andrea. In the second part of last year, we experienced a nice moment because all stores were open and there was the fascination of America that we can still perceive. We've kept this number unchanged regardless of the fluctuations in exchange rates. Well, you may have one or two, but now we have four or five different exchange rates. The second question concerning videos, we've always thought that, well, as you know, we've reached 60% of people buying in the boutique with the picture that they saw in the e-commerce website.
For the last years in Monte Carlo, for example, we also organize dinners in the boutique. In all the boutiques worldwide, we have the so-called bar. If you go to Madison Avenue, New York, you can have a cappuccino. Even if you don't buy anything, that's good enough. We've even set up five Casa Cucinelli where everyone can book an appointment to come and meet us, regardless of the purchasing power of the individual customer. This is very important for us. It's not true that only people with a certain level of income can come. This is generating important results.
We have lunch together. We have a conversation. This is very nice. Also multi-brands are coming to see us, and growth plans can be developed with them. The final question about collection. Let's leave children's wear apart, which is a very small collection, but the collection is 50/50 between womenswear and menswear in terms of number of items. Value-wise, 56 % versus 44%. Clearly, womenswear has a slightly higher value in the garments. I think I've answered all your questions. I don't know if you have any further questions, but for summer collections, we really had great results.
As usual, we can envisage, and we can think next year be favorable because in the first months of the year, you will have very positively perceived collections. What is really important is that collection are performing really well now in the stores. If multi-brands come with interesting budgets for fall/winter 2023, then we are successful, and that's the background of our planning. Finally, let me go back to what we said earlier in the beginning. This is what is also perceived by multi-brands. Mono-brands are not saying we are missing goods, which has not been delivered yet.
Multi-brands are the real barometer about how deliveries are performed by companies, if deliveries are on time, if they are late. They are the barometer of many factors. Well, hence, we see what Luxottica said, and what we read about Luxottica this morning. There's a strong desire for products. I hope I have answered all your questions, Andrea.
Thank you. Yes, you did.
Next question from the conference in English, Antoine Belge, BNP Paribas Exane, please.
Yes, good evening. It's Antoine Belge at BNPP Exane. Three questions, if I may. First of all, you commented about July and August being very strong. Is it possible maybe to quantify? I think you, in your guidance, you like to reference versus 2019. I don't know. Is the growth close to 40% or 50% versus 2019 like it was in the first half , or any other measure, or maybe , you know, give a bit of flavor by market? My second question relates to the gross margin, which was very strong, 71.7% in the first half.
When you talk about 18% for the EBITDA, I mean, what sort of EBIT margin are you expecting for the year or so, similar to H1 or different? And finally, what is currently the price gap between , you know, U.S. and Europe? It must have increased quite a lot, so how do you intend to react to that? I mean, do you expect to maybe lower prices in U.S. or increase prices in Europe? What's your pricing strategy, you know, in you know, if the euro/dollar stays at parity? Thank you very much.
Well, I will answer one question, and then I will hand over to Moreno. Well, as far as price lists are concerned, Antoine, we always change our price lists twice a year when the collection is released. We fix the current, the exchange rate, so we will never have profits or losses on exchange rate. This has always been the case. The prices change twice a year, spring/summer and fall/winter. Our reference price is Europe 100, U.S. 120, Asia 128. This is the way pricing is defined. Moreno.
As far as EBITDA is concerned, we had 18% in the first half, and as we said, we expect a similar trend in the second half. As far as the turnover is concerned, as we read in our press release and in the report to the financial statements, we expect versus 2019, which is a year with a better balance between the two halves versus the first half of 2022, which is very strong. Versus 2019, we expect a second half with a significant growth by about 30%, 30%. Organically, we have a second half 2022, which is very similar to the second half of 2019. Antoine, let me tell you one thing.
Now, we are at 2022. We have the new collection spring/summer 2023. We no longer go back to 2018, 2019. The reference point is 2021. The first half of 2021 still had many stores closed in Germany, for example, as of the end of May. The second part of the year, all the world was free, and, also the United States in the first part of 2021 and the second part of the year, all the stores were open. Antoine, the real reference year for us becomes 2021. Because if we take 2019 as a reference, three years have passed in the meantime. It's not that we do not focus on 2019, but 2019 is very far away from us. Thank you, Antoine.
I remind you that if you have any further question, you can dial star followed by one on your phone. There are. Paola, I'm sorry. Paola Carboni. No problem, we are here.
Good evening. Good evening, Brunello. Well, I was a bit skeptical. Now , Mr. Ciarapica is here, so let me ask this question on numbers. I see quite a large movement in credits and debits. I'm wondering whether there is any non-recurring item in the working capital?
Yes, Moreno will answer the question.
Other trade receivables and payables. One aspect is related to taxation in the first half. We've had a very significant result, and so the taxes that we have accrued and allocated for the first half have a higher debit in the financial statements compared to June 30, 2021. Then we have another element, which is the fair value valuation of the derivatives. Due to the exchange rate on June 30 that had a very strong fluctuation versus December 31, our derivatives were deeply impacted, and this is represented in sundry debts.
Thank you very much. Considering that you are available, as Brunello said by the way, we tend to focus on a year-on-year basis. You said that versus 2019, this year will be more balanced between the first and the second half. Yes, for sure. For this reason, we think we will have a lower second half, 30% versus the first half, 40%. I can hardly see that because I follow what Andrea said. I think there should be a higher margin versus this guidance of 15%. Otherwise, I can hardly understand why we move from 40 to 15%?
Yes, I know. I always say the same thing. Last year, in the second half, we had an excellent second half period. All stores were opened again. There was a high fascination. In the first half, some stores were closed in 2021, both in America and in Germany. The second half is, in my opinion, a very true and real half with a very important reference, which is last year. We are really very confident, Paola, and very optimistic. If you say, well, the reference point is the first half, 2021, well, it's not true. The real reference period is the second semester, is the second year of last year. Do you agree? Have you got my point, Paola?
When we draw the budget, we not only see whether it can be +2%, + 1%, well, I mean, the exchange rate. Let's start from this. Great. Looking ahead to 2023, the guidance is still +10%.
I guess you are very satisfied with the order intake for spring/summer
We don't know about fall/winter, but considering the order intake for spring/summer, yes, we are very confident. We're very optimistic. 2022 is not like the first half of 2021, of course. I know that you know us. Our goal is to provide you with true and real results. We do not want to give you fake expectations. I've always thought that the greatest managers are the Japanese ones. In the Japanese spirit, and this is the way I was raised, but managers drawing the 100% budget is the best one, much better than those reaching 101 or 102.
We convey to you what we are envisaging to reach. The second half of last year was great, but we are confident, and we're very optimistic, thanks to the collection, and we're also very confident and optimistic vis-à-vis 2023.
Thank you very much.
For any further questions, please press star plus one on your phone. Mr. Cucinelli, for the time being, there are no further questions.
Thank you. Thank you very much for joining the call on August 30. Analysts, please write something good about Italy, and trust Italy. We are a great country and invest in our Italy, in our country. Thank you very much. Thank you, and bye-bye.