Italian luxury group Tod's reports 63% jump in operating profit

MILAN (Reuters) - Italian luxury group Tod's said on Tuesday its operating profit rose to 94.7 million euros ($103.3 million) last year from 58.2 a year earlier, ahead of L Catterton's offer aimed at delisting the company.

The shoe maker's earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) was above the 88-million-euro analysts' forecast in a company-provided consensus.

Sales rose by 11.9% to 1.13 billion euros last year, boosted by China and despite slower growth in the last quarter, preliminary data released in January showed.

"The next few years will see us committed to the consolidation of individual brands, and this is also why we felt (it) strategically important to share this project with the L Catterton investment firm by leaving the Stock Exchange," founder and main shareholder Diego Della Valle said in a statement.

L Catterton, the private equity group backed by France's LVMH, offered last month to buy 36% of the Italian luxury shoemaker and delist it, in agreement with the Della Valle family which created the company.

Since the offer's announcement on Feb 10, L Catterton has already bought on the market Tod's shares corresponding to around 7.4% of the company's capital.

In the last month Tod's shares have been trading around 43 euros, the price offered by L Catterton.

Italian market watchdog Consob is examining the offer prospectus.($1 = 0.9164 euros)

(Reporting by Elisa Anzolin, editing by Alvise Armellini and Keith Weir)