Zurich (AFP) – Swatch Group said Thursday that weak sales in China wiped out growth elsewhere in the first half of the year for the world’s top watch company, leaving it barely profitable. Net sales fell 11.2 percent to 3.1 billion Swiss francs ($3.8 billion), while net profit plunged 88 percent to 17 million francs.
“The decline in sales is exclusively attributable to China,” the company said, adding that sales in other regions reached record levels set in 2023 and 2024. “As feared, another half-year with a lot of sand in the gears,” said Patrik Schwendimann, analyst at the Zurich Kantonalbank, in a market commentary.
Shares in the group were nonetheless trading up 0.8 percent at 138.25 francs late morning as the Swiss Performance Index added 0.7 percent. Besides its eponymous Swatch watches, the company owns high-end brands such as Omega, Longines, and Tissot, and like other luxury firms, the demand of Chinese consumers for Western goods has made it a top market.
But Swatch said the region’s share in total sales has fallen from a third to just under a quarter as China’s economy has struggled, with a real estate crisis hampering consumption by many households. Sales to Chinese wholesalers fell by 30 percent during the first half of the year and were down by 15 percent in Swatch’s retail stores.
Sagging consumer demand in Hong Kong, Macao, and Southeast Asia also had a negative effect, the firm added. But Swatch said it has seen the first signs of improvement in China and expects an improved market environment in the second half of the year.
Meanwhile, first half sales growth reached double digits in North America, India, Turkey, the Middle East, and Australia. “The USA, Japan, and India continue to have great growth potential,” it said, adding it expects utilization of its production capacity to rise in the second half of the year thanks to new product launches.
© 2024 AFP
