The house of Versace dramatically reduced losses in 2005, drastically reducing the red ink to a €5.5 million ($6.875 million), from a whopping operating loss of €92.4 million ($115.5 million) a year earlier.

The house also announced Wednesday that it had radically reduced its debt load. Versace said in a statement that its net banking indebtedness had swung from a negative position of €79.5 million ($99.4 million) at the end of 2004 to a positive balance of €2.1 million ($2.6 million) end 2005.

The modest loss was even better than Versace’s own forecast: the fashion label’s CEO Giancarlo Di Risio had forecast a full-year loss of €15 million ($18.75 million) when releasing half-year figures last September.

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