2332 GMT - Investors in costume jewelry retailer Lovisa are arguably too bearish about issues facing the Jewells business, says UBS. That's because management isn't likely to tolerate many years of losses. Jewells racked up a A$5.3 million loss in FY 2025, which grew to A$10.8 million in 1H. Analyst Shaun Cousins says this weighed on Lovisa's overall Ebit growth in 1H. UBS expects losses to reduce, but remain significant. That's partly due to the UK consumer coming under pressure. "We think Lovisa has a disciplined management team that is unlikely to tolerate multi-year losses," UBS says. "Hence, in our view, Jewells either becomes a successful new format or Lovisa seeks to significantly reduce losses, with closure a possibility." UBS upgrades Lovisa to buy, from neutral. Lovisa ended Wednesday at A$24.04. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 08, 2026 19:32 ET (23:32 GMT)

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