(SGI) The chief executives of Moncler and Kering have both denied press speculation about a possible acquisition of the Italian brand of luxury outerwear by the parent company of Gucci, Saint Laurent and other luxury goods brands, which spun off Puma two years ago. Indicating that there were no concrete plans about the sale of his company to another group, Moncler’s CEO, Remo Ruffini denied any relationship between such plans and a proposed loyalty share scheme that would allow him to increase his voting rights in the company from 19.6 percent to 29 percent. Meanwhile, Moncler reported an increase in net income of 9 percent to €361.5 million for the financial year ended on Dec. 31, 2019, and the gain amounted to 16 percent on a comparable tax basis. It scored a somewhat higher Ebitda margin of 35.3 percent on consolidated revenues of €1,627.7 million. The margin after depreciation and amortization (Ebit) remained high at 29.2 percent of sales – just below the margin of 30.1 percent attained by Kering last year. Moncler ended the year with more than €700 million in net cash. (More in SGI Europe)