Richemont H1 profit drops as Covid-19 hits sales

In the six month period under review, Richemont said, trading was significantly impacted by the worldwide spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and its resulting negative impact on trading conditions. Sales decreased by 26 percent at actual exchange rates and by 25 percent at constant exchange rates to 5.5 billion euros. The company added that as lockdown restrictions were eased, sentiment and sales momentum gradually improved, and the decline in sales for the second quarter was limited to 5 percent at actual exchange rates and 2 percent at constant exchange rates. Gross profit decreased by 31 percent to 3,165 million euros and gross margin stood at 57.8 percent, operating profit contracted by 61 percent to 452 million euros, resulting in an operating margin of 8.3 percent, profit amounted to 159 million euros, a 710 million euros decline and earnings per share decreased by 82 percent to 0.281 euros on a diluted basis.