Cartier owner Richemont posts dip in sales
A Cartier store, owned by Richemont, in Shanghai, China, on Wednesday, July 17, 2024.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Swiss luxury group Richemont reported a 1% dip in sales through the six-month period ending in September, citing a challenging macroeconomic backdrop and tougher conditions in China.
The Cartier owner said sales came in at 10.1 billion euros ($10.89 billion) in the first half of its fiscal year, down 1% at actual exchange rates from the same period a year earlier.
Operating profit from continuing operations, meanwhile, came in at 2.2 billion euros for the six-month period, reflecting a 17% fall at actual exchange rates.
“In the first half of this fiscal year, we continued to deliver sustained resilience in a world where uncertainty has become the norm,” Johann Rupert, chairman of Richemont, said in a statement.
“We saw solid sales growth across most of our regions offsetting continued weakness in Chinese demand, which, as I had predicted, will take longer to recover and is particularly affecting our Specialist Watchmakers,” he added.
— Sam Meredith
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CNBC Pro asked analysts for their bitcoin price targets, and when they expect the cryptocurrency to hit them.
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European markets: Here are the opening calls
European markets are expected to open in mixed territory on Friday.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is poised to open 23 points higher at 8,166, Germany’s DAX up 45 points at 19,412, France’s CAC up 21 points at 7,445 and Italy’s FTSE MIB down 13 points at 33,689, according to data from IG.
In corporate news, Swiss luxury group Richemont and British Airways-owner IAG are among those to report earnings on Friday.
— Sam Meredith