Jewellery maker Pandora says organic sales could rise or fall this year

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish jewellery maker Pandora expects organic sales growth between -3% and 3% this year, it said on Wednesday as it reported fourth-quarter earnings above analysts' expectations.

Analysts had expected the organic growth forecast to come in at 1% on average.

"We ended 2022 on a high note. Despite the macroeconomic pressure on consumers and COVID-19 headwinds in China, we continue to deliver solid growth vs. pre-pandemic levels," Chief Executive Alexander Lacik said in a statement.

Pandora reported quarterly sales of 9.9 billion Danish crowns ($1.43 billion), above an average forecast of 9.6 billion in a poll of analysts compiled by the company.

It proposed a dividend of 16 crowns per share and a new share buy-back programme of 2.4 billion crowns, with an intention to increase that to 5 billion unless macroeconomic conditions worsen, it said.

($1 = 6.9305 Danish crowns)

(Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard, editing by Anna Ringstrom)