Swatch Group, the Swiss watchmaker, shrugged off concerns about slackening Chinese demand for luxury goods as it booked a 25 per cent rise in profits and said prospects for the second half were “promising”.
Buoyant demand from the new rich created by Asia’s economic boom was one of the main factors behind the company’s record results in 2011.
Despite noticing “a certain weakening in the high-end segment in parts of Greater China”, Swatch said that in the six months to June, revenues rose 14 per cent year on year to SFr3.85bn ($3.87bn), underpinned by the expansion of its distribution and retail networks, as well as a strong performance by its brands such as Omega and Breguet.