Richemont announces 29% sales increase
Swiss luxury goods company, Richemont, has posted that its five-month sales to August 2011 increased by 29% at actual exchange rates. At constant exchange rates, sales increased by 35%.
The Geneva-based company which owns brands such as Cartier, Alfred Dunhill, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Montblanc said its Asia-Pacific region continued to report “very” strong growth, with sales up 46% for the five months. Sales gained 26% in the Americas, 21% in Europe and Japan saw growth of 7%.
“Richemont expects its sales and operating profit for the first six months of this year to be significantly higher than the comparative period,” said CEO Johann Rupert. He said that the rest of the financial year was “difficult to predict”.
“The problems of fiscal deficits generally and Euro zone difficulties in particular are likely to act as a drag on business prospects for companies in the period ahead, especially if the growth markets are affected. To hope for a continuation of the current good trading levels in such circumstances may be over-optimistic,” Mr Rupert commented, bookmarking further pressures, like demanding comparative figures, and the strength of the Swiss franc against the euro and other major currencies.
