Richemont H1 profits widen as sales exceed pre-Covid levels

Swiss luxury group Richemont has reported surging sales in the first half of the year, ahead of pre-Covid 2019 levels.

In the six months to September 30, sales at the group came in at 8.91 billion euros, up 63 percent at actual exchange rates compared to a year earlier, and up 20 percent compared to two years ago, prior to the outbreak of the pandemic.

The group, whose portfolio includes Chloé, Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP) and Cartier, reported net income of 1.249 billion euros, up 685 percent from a year earlier and up 44 percent on a two-year basis.

Richemont’s Jewellery Maisons performed particularly well, with sales up 67 percent on a year-over-year basis and by 36 percent compared to 2019 levels.

Sales accelerate at Richemont

The group’s ‘Other’ division, which includes its fashion and accessories labels, saw sales increase by 72 percent compared to 2020 levels, but were 1 percent below 2019 levels.

However, the division saw double-digit sales growth in the second quarter, exceeding pre-Covid levels.

At the group’s ‘Online Distributors’ division, which includes its loss-making e-commerce platform YNAP, sales grew 37 percent on a year-on-year basis and by 8 percent on a two-year basis.

But the division’s operating loss widened to 141 million euros from 138 million euros a year earlier.

Richemont also announced Friday it is in “advanced talks” with Farfetch to sell its minority stake in YNAP, which reported widening losses in the first half of the year despite growing sales.

The group said it wants YNAP to become a “neutral, industry-wide platform” with no controlling shareholder.