Richemont Posts Slowing Sales Growth Amid Challenging Environment -- Update
November 10 2023 - 1:42AM
Dow Jones News
By Andrea Figueras
Compagnie Financiere Richemont posted a slowdown in sales growth
for the first-half of fiscal 2024 due to inflation, slowing
economic growth and geopolitical tensions that hurt customer
sentiment.
The Swiss-based luxury company, which counts jeweler Cartier
among its brands, said on Friday that it made net profit from
continuing operations of 2.16 billion euros ($2.30 billion) for the
first six months to Sept. 30, compared with EUR2.11 billion in the
year-earlier period. Including discontinued operations, the company
swung to a net profit of EUR1.505 billion, compared with a loss of
EUR766 million.
The company booked sales of EUR10.22 billion, up 6% at current
exchange rates and 12% at constant currency, showing a
normalization in growth as first-quarter sales increased 19% at
constant exchange rates. Operating profit fell 2% to EUR2.655
billion.
First-half results came below analysts' expectations that
forecast group sales of EUR10.34 billion and operating profit of
EUR2.88 billion, according to FactSet.
The core jewelry division, home to Cartier and Van Cleef &
Arpels, reported sales of EUR6.95 billion, up 10% at current
exchange rates.
"We have seen a broad-based normalisation of market growth
expectations across the industry," Richemont Chairman Johann Rupert
said. Looking ahead, Rupert noted a volatile environment and global
uncertainties, but said that he has confidence in the group's
long-term prospects.
The company appointed Karlheinz Baumann, group director of
operations, to the senior executive committee effective
immediately.
Furthermore, Richemont said that it obtained clearance from
regulatory authorities to sell a stake in online platform Yoox
Net-A-Porter to Farfetch, although the completion of the
transaction remains subject to certain other conditions, it
said.
Write to Andrea Figueras at andrea.figueras@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 10, 2023 02:27 ET (07:27 GMT)
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