The Swiss luxury group Richemont, owner of the jewellery houses Cartier and Piaget among others, has just presented its financial results for the year 2020 and the first quarter of 2021. It has doubled its dividend after a rise of more than a third in its annual net profit, driven by the good performance of its jewellery brands.
The easing of restrictions linked to the Covid-19 crisis, which boosted sales in China and the US in particular, led to a rebound in sales in the first three months of 2021 for the world’s number two luxury goods company.
Richemont’s net profit rose 38% to 1.289 billion euros ($1.58 billion) in the first quarter of 2021, ended March, 31, ahead of a projection of 821 million euros, according to Refinitiv data; better than estimated. However, sales declined by 5% at constant exchange rates and 8% at actual rates to €13.14 billion. However, actual sales figures also exceeded the Refinitiv survey estimate of 13.02 billion thanks to a strong recovery in the last quarter.
Richemont has seen its watch sales recover recently from the health crisis, benefiting more from the recovery than rival Swatch Group, due to its greater exposure to the high-end jewellery segment.
Bernstein analyst, Luca Solca, said the results represented “a strong beat to consensus, built on the exceptional performance of the jewellery houses” .
Richemont did not give an outlook for the rest of the year, but group chairman and majority shareholder, Johann Rupert, said in a statement that “volatility and low visibility are likely to prevail until collective immunity” from COVID-19 slovenska-lekaren.com/.
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Featured photo : © Richemont
