Richemont sales flat as weak China demand weighs on luxury sector

Cartier owner Richemont said sales were flat in the three months to the end of June as it became the latest luxury goods to be hit by a heavy fall in Chinese demand.

The company on Tuesday said sales rose 1% to €5.3bn against consensus forecasts of 2% growth, amid a "continuing uncertain macroeconomic and geopolitical environment".

"All regions delivered growth except for Asia Pacific where sales contracted by 18%, as higher sales in South Korea and Malaysia only partially mitigated a 27% decline in China, Hong Kong and Macau combined," the company said.

On Monday, a sharp drop in sales at Swiss watchmaker Swatch and a profit warning from Burberry saw shares in both firms fall sharply.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com