China boosts sales for Cartier owner Richemont
Cartier jewellery owner Richemont reported on Monday a surge in quarterly sales, driven by China's reopening after years of Covid restrictions.
The Swiss luxury giant, whose other brands include fashion house Chloe and fountain pen maker Montblanc, posted 5.3 billion euros ($6 billion) in revenue in its first quarter ending in June.
It was a 14 percent increase from the same period last year.
But it was lower than the 5.4 billion euros expected by analysts surveyed by Swiss news agency AWP.
The group reported a "strong rebound" in the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan, with revenue surging 40 percent at constant exchange rates.
The removal of Covid restrictions and the reopening of borders in China in January led to double-digit growth in the mainland and triple-digit increases in Hong Kong and Macau.
Richemont said the growth in the Asia-Pacific region offset a two percent fall in sales in the Americas.
China's economic recovery has displayed signs of weakness, however, with data on Monday showing that the economy grew by 6.3 percent in the second quarter, much lower than expected.
