Richemont Group (Richemont) announced on Friday that sales for the fourth fiscal quarter fell 1%, confirming the slowdown in the luxury goods industry.
The company said its sales fell to 4.8 billion euros (about US$5.21 billion) in the three months to the end of March.
At a fixed exchange rate, sales increased by 2%, which was slower than the 8% growth rate in the previous fiscal quarter ending December last year.
However, the fourth fiscal quarter data is slightly higher than the general forecast of 4.78 billion euros given by the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).
In the fiscal year ending March, Lifeng Group's sales increased 3% to 20.62 billion euros, while net profit attributable to shareholders was 2.36 billion euros, lower than market expectations.
“Richemont Group has provided a solid base of results... while successfully facing adverse foreign exchange fluctuations, harsh comparisons, and ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty,” the company's chairman John Rupert said in a statement.
In another statement, the company announced the promotion of Nicolas Bos (Nicolas Bos), CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels (Van Cleef & Arpels), as Group CEO.