News 
In the first six months of the financial year, Richemont reported a strong underlying performance amid continued economic and geopolitical uncertainties and an unfavourable foreign exchange environment. Sales from continuing operations rose by 12% at constant exchange rates (+6% at actual exchange rates) to € 10.2 billion. Operating profit from continuing operations was € 2.7 billion, up 15% at constant exchange rates.
The ongoing focus on enhancing the desirability of the Maisons, promoting direct-to-client engagement, nurturing domestic clienteles and reinforcing the agility and excellence of its operations strengthened the Group and reinforced its resilience.
Compared to the prior-year period, at actual exchange rates, sales increases were recorded across almost all distribution channels and all regions excluding the Americas, where sales declined by 4%. Growth was led by Asia-Pacific, with sales up by 14% following the reopening of China’s borders, as well as by Jewellery Maisons and the retail channel – notably online retail – all of which jointly contributed 74% of Group sales.
The Jewellery Maisons – Buccellati, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels – once again confirmed their market leadership, with 10% sales growth overall and ongoing cost discipline delivering a € 2.5 billion operating result and a corresponding 35.5% operating margin. The Group has further invested in their manufacturing capacity and capabilities, distribution and communication to support their strong development.
While demand for iconic collections remained resilient across all the watch Maisons, Specialist Watchmakers recorded a 3% year-on-year sales decline to € 2.0 billion. This performance overshadowed the high single-digit growth sales growth in their directly operated boutiques, which now account for 57% of Specialist Watchmakers’ sales, as well as the continued outperformance of A. Lange & Söhne and Vacheron Constantin. Impacted by a strong Swiss franc, operating result amounted to € 391 million, representing an 19.7% operating margin.
The Group’s Other sector saw sales decline by 1%, while sales at the Fashion & Accessories Maisons were broadly in line with the prior-year period, with most Maisons posting higher sales. Of particular note are the retail performance and continued outperformance of Alaïa, Delvaux and Peter Millar, together with the success of Montblanc’s redesigned leather collections. Overall, the Other business area recorded an operating loss of 6 million, while Fashion & Accessories generated a €25 million operating profit.
At Group level, operating profit from continuing operations was also significantly impacted by negative exchange rate developments, but nonetheless generated an 26.0% operating margin. Profit from continuing operations rose to € 2.2 billion, benefiting from lower net finance costs. The € 0.7 billion loss from discontinued operations reflected the combined result of Yoox Net-A-Porter (YNAP) for the six-month period and the € 0.5 billion non-cash write-down of the revaluation of YNAP’s net assets, classified as “held for sale”, to its fair value. The total net non-cash write-down since the Group fully acquired Net-A-Porter in 2010 amounts to € 1.8 billion, based on the application of IFRS, which has driven a series of write-up(s)/write-down of the net assets’ carrying value. Importantly, amid the current macroeconomic uncertainty, the net cash position remained solid at € 5.8 billion on 30 September 2023 (excluding YNAP’s net bank overdraft position of € 0.7 billion, presented as assets and liabilities of disposal group held for sale).
November 23, 2023