Richemont CFR.S reported on Friday a half-year profit below expectations, the Swiss group in turn illustrating the current difficulties of the luxury sector faced with the caution of its wealthy clientele.
The owner of Cartier, Piaget and IWC posted a profit of 1.51 billion euros for the six months ending at the end of September, below the 2.17 billion euros expected by analysts according to a Cantonal Bank consensus. from Zurich.
Turnover increased by 6% to 10.22 billion euros, compared to 9.68 billion euros a year earlier, a result again lower than the 10.34 billion expected by analysts.
For the July-September period, sales at constant currencies increased by 5% despite a slowdown in Europe. Jewelry sales increased by 9% but those of watches fell by 4%.
“Growth slowed in the second quarter as inflationary pressure, slowing economic growth and geopolitical tensions began to affect customer sentiment, a trend accentuated by strong comparison bases,” said Johann Rupert , chairman of the board of directors, in a press release.
“As a result, we have seen a general normalization of market growth expectations across the sector.”
(Reporting John Revill, French version Augustin Turpin)