By Andrea Figueras

Richemont, the owner of upscale brands including jeweler Cartier, reported a pickup in sales growth as signs of a recovery in the luxury sector emerge, despite continued uncertainty around U.S. tariffs.

The Swiss luxury-goods group said Friday that sales for its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30 climbed 14% on year, adjusted for currency effects. In the first quarter, group sales had risen 6% on year.

Zurich-listed shares jumped 7.6% to 173.70 Swiss francs in European morning trading.

Still, the company said market conditions remained challenging, highlighting President Trump's tariffs on imports to the U.S., as well as currency movements and higher gold prices. Trump's tariffs have proved a thorny issue for Swiss companies, with goods produced in the Alpine nation currently subject to a 39% levy. However, Trump recently said those duties could be lowered.

"We have absolutely no idea what the tariff rate will be," Richemont Chairman Johann Rupert said during a call after results.

"Looking ahead, it is evident that we will need to continue navigating through uncertain times, given that recovery paths remain unsteady, for instance in China, and that external pressures show no sign of abating," Rupert said.

Hopes of a wider recovery have grown in the past weeks as big names in luxury, including Parisian sector bellwether LVMH, have reported improving sales.

The luxury sector has endured a lingering slump in demand over the past few years, especially in China, where buyers hungry for Western fashion fuelled a post-pandemic boom in luxury sales. Richemont has managed to navigate the downturn better than most of its competitors, mainly due to its brands' positioning among well-heeled shoppers, who have continued to spend money on high-end goods regardless of the economic landscape.

Richemont's core jewelry division, home to Van Cleef & Arpels and others alongside Cartier, recorded a 17% rise in sales over the quarter, accelerating from the 11% increase it posted in the preceding three months. That division remains "a remarkable locomotive for growth," analysts at Jefferies wrote in a note to clients.

The watchmakers business, which includes Piaget, Vacherin Constantin and other high-end timepiece makers, booked a 3% increase in sales.

Revenue for the first half as a whole grew 10% on year excluding currency movements to 10.62 billion euros ($12.35 billion), beating analysts' projections of 10.41 billion euros, according to a poll of estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.

Net profit for the six-month period jumped to 1.81 billion euros from 457 million euros previously.

"Richemont is a fundamentally stronger business than in the past," Citi's Thomas Chauvet and Alberto Cecchetto wrote, pointing to the group's efforts to improve its scale, product, and geographic mixes and distribution networks.

Write to Andrea Figueras at andrea.figueras@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 14, 2025 05:11 ET (10:11 GMT)

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