Cartier owner Richemont’s sales rise 10% in third quarter, China weakness remains

Owner of Cartier Richemont announced on Thursday a 10% increase in its sales in the third quarter, even if Chinese demand weighed, which constitutes a positive signal for the health of the luxury sector in Europe during the Christmas shopping period.

Sales reached 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 “highest-ever” quarterly sales figure highest ever recorded. That was well above the 1% increase analysts expected in a 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 regions of mainland China, from Hong Kong and Macau.

China, once a key driver of demand for luxury goods, has been a major drag on the sector as it struggles to emerge from the post-Covid-19 pandemic macroeconomic doldrums.

These results mark a return to growth for the company, which reported a 1% drop in sales in the first half through September, due to a difficult macroeconomic backdrop and more difficult conditions in China . Turnover for this half-year amounted to 10.1 billion euros.

The high-end group was previously an exception in a broader downturn in the luxury sector, posting record full-year sales in May.

Luca Solca, senior global luxury goods analyst at Bernstein, said Thursday’s results provide an initial positive signal for the return to health of the luxury sector as a whole.

Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, excluding greater China, “both experienced strong sequential improvements, driven by higher domestic demand and strong tourism flows, while the Americas continue to be driven by strong local demand,” Solca said in a note.

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