Cartier owner Richemont Q3 sales up 10%, weakness in China remains
Shoppers walk past the luxury Cartier store, managed by Cie. Financiere Richemont SA, in the luxury department store Galeries Lafayette SA in Paris, France.
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Owner of Cartier Richemont on Thursday reported a 10% increase in sales in the fiscal third quarter, although demand in China was subdued, a positive signal for the health of Europe’s luxury sector during the holiday shopping period.
Sales rose to 6.2 billion euros ($6.38 billion) at constant exchange rates in the three months to the end of December, which the Swiss luxury brand called its “biggest ever” quarterly sales. That was well above the 1% increase analysts were expecting in the consensus cited by RBC, according to Reuters.
The company reported double-digit growth in all regions except Asia Pacific, where sales fell 7%, led by an 18% decline in the combined Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau regions.
The results mark a return to growth for the company, which reported a 1% year-over-year decline sales in the first half of the year to September, citing a challenging macroeconomic backdrop and tougher conditions in China. Sales in that six-month period amounted to 10.1 billion euros.
The high-end group had until then been an exception in the wider decline of luxury, recording a record year-round sale in May.
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