Luxury goods group Richemont said volatility was likely to persist in the second half after net profit bounced back and sales grew by almost two thirds at constant exchange rates in the six months to September 30.
Net profit reached €1.249 billion in the first half of the AAA top replica Cartier watches maker’s fiscal year 2021/2022, after dropping to €159m the same time last year, beating a forecast for €1.151 billion in a Refinitiv poll.
Richemont also said it is in advanced talks with online retailer Farfetch about selling it a minority stake in loss-making Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP) in a move likely to appease investors critical of the luxury goods firm and high quality Canada replica watches.
Richemont, which owns brands such as best Swiss made Cartier fake watches and Piaget, said it would also invite other firms besides Farfetch to participate in turning YNAP into a neutral, industry-wide retail platform with no overall controlling shareholder.
Shares in the company controlled by South African billionaire Johann Rupert surged as much as 10% to a record high after the YNAP news and better than expected first-half results.
Richemont has invested heavily in YNAP.
It is trying to make it less capital intensive by moving away from owning all of its inventory to a hybrid model where some fake watches with Swiss movements are owned by third parties – inspired by Farfetch’s asset-light model.
YNAP’s losses have fueled speculation about a possible sale and there were reports this week that activist hedge fund Third Point had built a stake in Richemont and was pressing it to improve its performance.
Long-time Richemont shareholder Artisan Partners told Reuters it agreed with activist investors that the company was significantly undervalued, saying the key reason for this was YNAP’s performance.
Chief Financial Officer Burkhart Grund declined to comment on whether Third Point had built a stake but made clear the company’s goal was to cede control of YNAP.
“Neutral platform means no controlling shareholder,” Grund told reporters on a call.
Richemont Chairman Rupert again ruled out the idea of a merger with French luxury goods rival Kering, saying its previous rejection of a deal was a “binding statement”.
“We made a clear statement that Richemont is not for sale and we are not interested in merging, so we believe in our own businesses,” Rupert, who controls the majority of voting rights in Richemont, said.
Analyts said that separating YNAP from Richemont would create material shareholder value and he also applauded the company’s strong performance in jeweler and its improvement in copy watches online wholesale this year.
Richemont reported a jump in net profit to €1.25 billion in the six months to September 30, beating forecasts for €1.15 billion in a Refinitiv poll, but the company remained cautious.
“For the second half of the year, volatility is likely to persist, including in terms of inflation and geopolitical tensions,” said the company, also known for its IWC super clone watches for sale.
Richemont said constant currency sales jumped 65%, helped by a weak comparison base last year, when business was hit by the pandemic.
French luxury goods company LVMH said last month its like-for-like sales rose 20% in the third quarter, while Kering reported a 12.2% increase.
Both flagged a slowdown in Asia due to a resurgence of Covid-19 cases.
