Richemont sales slump 18% in fiscal fourth quarter

Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA said Friday that net profit for fiscal 2020 declined and that the coronavirus pandemic hit its result during the fourth quarter.

The Swiss luxury conglomerate reported net profit of 933 million euros ($1.01 billion), down from EUR2.78 billion a year prior and lower than analysts’ expectations of EUR1.21 billion, according to FactSet.

The big drop in profit is partly due to a large one-off gain booked during fiscal 2019, Richemont said. Net profit fell 34% excluding this effect, it said.

Sales for the year ended March 31 rose 2% to EUR14.24 billion. At constant exchange rates, sales were flat year-on-year, the owner of Cartier said. Analysts had seen sales at EUR14.1 billion, according to a FactSet consensus estimate.

During the January-March quarter, the company’s sales fell 18% due to the coronavirus pandemic, Richemont said.

The company, which owns several luxury watch and jewelry brands, said the pandemic will hit its performance during the current fiscal year, but that it is impossible to make reliable predictions at this stage.

The Swiss group resolved to propose a dividend of 1 Swiss franc ($1.03), halving it from CHF2 the year previous.

Cristina Roca

Source:marketwatch.com