LONDON – Sales at Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels parent Richemont rose 16 percent to 12.3 billion euros in the first fiscal half as demand for hard luxury continues to outstrip high-end fashion and accessories.
At constant exchange rates, sales in the six months to Sept. 30 rose 17 percent, with a 13 percent uptick in the second quarter. The pace of growth may have been slower than in the first quarter, when sales were up 20 percent, but it’s clear demand for watches and jewelry remains robust against a difficult geopolitical and macroeconomic backdrop.
Operating profit rose 33 percent to 3.1 billion euros, despite higher raw material costs, and gold in particular, while profit for the six month period rose 39 percent to 2.5 billion euros.
Sales at Richemont‘s jewelry maisons rose 18 percent at reported exchange, with the specialist watch division and Richemont’s “other” division, which includes the fashion and accessories houses, each rose 9 percent in the period.
All regions grew in the double-digits with the exception of the Middle East and Africa. At reported exchange, the Americas led the way with sales up 23 percent, followed by Japan at 18 percent, Asia-Pacific at 17 percent and Europe at 12 percent. The Middle East and Africa region was down 2 percent.
Richemont’s chairman Johann Rupert described the first half as strong, due to the “operational discipline” at the company against a volatile backdrop. He said the “excellent performance” of watches and jewelry came from demand for both for “iconic” collections as well as product novelties.
Richemont CEO Nicolas Bos said jewelry was selling across prices and categorires, with Van Cleef & Arpels’ Alhambra and Cartier‘s Clash and Love collections growing strongly alongside the high jewelry collections.
Bos added that most of the buyers are local clients, with around 15 percent of sales coming from tourists.
Richemont shares were down nearly 7 percent at 164 Swiss francs at 9:30 a.m. CET.