Cartier owner Richemont on Friday posted a 20 percent drop in net profit for the first half of the year due to slumping sales in China, whose economic slowdown has hit the luxury goods sector.
Richemont said after-tax profit reached 1.7 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in the six-month period ending in September, lower than estimates by analysts polled by Swiss news agency AWP.
Global sales fell one percent to 10.1 billion euros
Sales from the Asia-Pacific region fell by almost a fifth while the rest of the world recorded “solid growth”, Richemont said in its results statement.
Citing “reduced consumer spending” in China, Richemont said growth in other Asian countries was “more than offset” by double-digit sales declines in the world's second-largest economy.
Last month, French group LVMH, the world's largest luxury company whose brands include Louis Vuitton, Dior and Bulgari, reported a 4.4 percent drop in third-quarter sales.
Gucci owner Kering said its sales slumped 15 percent in the same quarter due to slowing consumer spending in China.