Strong demand in China lifts Richemont

(Sharecast News) - Shares in Richemont sparked on Thursday after the Swiss owner of Cartier posted a jump in quarterly sales, driven by strong demand in China. The luxury goods specialist, which also owns Van Cleef & Arpels, Piaget, IWC, Chloe and Montblanc, said sales in the three months to 31 December rose 8% to €5.6bn on a constant currency basis.

Most analysts had forecast sales closer to €5.2bn.

Sales in Asia Pacific rose 13% to €2bn, fuelled by a 25% surge in sales across mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. In Japan, sales jumped 18% to €514m.

The strong performance in China and the wider region helped offset a weaker performance in Europe, where sales fell 3% to €1.2bn.

Richemont said there had been an overall reduction in tourist spending in the region.

Richemont's jewellery maisons - the group's biggest arm - reported a 12% jump in sales to €4bn.

As at 1345 GMT, shares in the Zurich-listed firm, which also owns online retailer Net-A- Porter, were up 10%.