The world's biggest watch group Swatch saw its share price soar Friday after posting an 8.3-percent increase in sales in 2013, even though it undershot targets due to unfavourable exchange rates.
The Swiss watchmaker said in a statement before its full results that its sales soared to 8.8 billion Swiss francs ($9.7 billion, 7.1 billion euros) last year, up from 8.1 billion a year earlier.
Swatch, most known for its brightly coloured plastic-cased watches, thereby fell short of the 9.0 billion francs it said a year ago it aimed to generate.
But the shortfall did not come as a surprise, since Swatch chief Nick Hayek had warned for several months that exchange rates might eat into the annual result.
Analysts polled by AWP financial news agency had expected the company to post a sales figure of between 8.7 and 8.9 billion francs.
Even without meeting last year's target, the sales set a new company record.
The market responded with a standing ovation, sending Swatch's stock price up more than four percent in afternoon trading to 572 Swiss francs a piece, by far outperforming the Swiss stock exchange's main index, which was up 0.9 percent.
"Swatch Group is clearly winning market share," Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Jon Cox told AFP in an email.
In 2013, Swatch Group faced "an extremely adverse currency situation," the company noted in a statement, stressing its sales figure had been hard-hit by an over-valuation of the Swiss franc against the dollar and the yen.
"In the second half of the year, the negative effect on sales due to exchange rates was over 100 million francs," the company lamented.
Despite the currency impact, Swatch said it expected to posted good operating profit and net income results when it publishes its full 2013 earnings, no later than February 20.
Swatch, which operates in every price range, from the Flik Flak watches for children to prestigious timepieces under for instance the Breguet brand that can cost more than $1.0 million a piece, meanwhile easily outperformed the overall market.
The company, based in the northwestern town of Biel, said its watch and jewellery division, which comprises most of its activities, had seen sales swell 10 percent in 2013.
This compared to the Swiss watch industry's mere 1.8-percent rise in wristwatch exports for the first eleven months of the year, Swatch said.
J. Safra Sarasin analyst Patrick Hasenboehler hailed the company's results as "convincing," stressing that "growth prospects for Swatch Group remain promising."
Swatch, he said, was benefitting from "the persistently high demand in the middle price segment, where the company has an extremely strong position," and was "doing better businesses than the average of the Swiss watch industry."
Swatch middle range brands include Tissot, Hamilton, Balmain and Certina, as well as Calvin Klein watches and jewelry.
Looking ahead, Swatch itself hailed "the strong start by all brands in the first few days of January," stressing "dynamic growth is expected for the entire year 2014."
The world’s biggest watch group Swatch saw its share price soar Friday after posting an 8.3-percent increase in sales in 2013, even though it undershot targets due to unfavourable exchange rates.
The Swiss watchmaker said in a statement before its full results that its sales soared to 8.8 billion Swiss francs ($9.7 billion, 7.1 billion euros) last year, up from 8.1 billion a year earlier.
Swatch, most known for its brightly coloured plastic-cased watches, thereby fell short of the 9.0 billion francs it said a year ago it aimed to generate.
But the shortfall did not come as a surprise, since Swatch chief Nick Hayek had warned for several months that exchange rates might eat into the annual result.
Analysts polled by AWP financial news agency had expected the company to post a sales figure of between 8.7 and 8.9 billion francs.
Even without meeting last year’s target, the sales set a new company record.
The market responded with a standing ovation, sending Swatch’s stock price up more than four percent in afternoon trading to 572 Swiss francs a piece, by far outperforming the Swiss stock exchange’s main index, which was up 0.9 percent.
“Swatch Group is clearly winning market share,” Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Jon Cox told AFP in an email.
In 2013, Swatch Group faced “an extremely adverse currency situation,” the company noted in a statement, stressing its sales figure had been hard-hit by an over-valuation of the Swiss franc against the dollar and the yen.
“In the second half of the year, the negative effect on sales due to exchange rates was over 100 million francs,” the company lamented.
Despite the currency impact, Swatch said it expected to posted good operating profit and net income results when it publishes its full 2013 earnings, no later than February 20.
Swatch, which operates in every price range, from the Flik Flak watches for children to prestigious timepieces under for instance the Breguet brand that can cost more than $1.0 million a piece, meanwhile easily outperformed the overall market.
The company, based in the northwestern town of Biel, said its watch and jewellery division, which comprises most of its activities, had seen sales swell 10 percent in 2013.
This compared to the Swiss watch industry’s mere 1.8-percent rise in wristwatch exports for the first eleven months of the year, Swatch said.
J. Safra Sarasin analyst Patrick Hasenboehler hailed the company’s results as “convincing,” stressing that “growth prospects for Swatch Group remain promising.”
Swatch, he said, was benefitting from “the persistently high demand in the middle price segment, where the company has an extremely strong position,” and was “doing better businesses than the average of the Swiss watch industry.”
Swatch middle range brands include Tissot, Hamilton, Balmain and Certina, as well as Calvin Klein watches and jewelry.
Looking ahead, Swatch itself hailed “the strong start by all brands in the first few days of January,” stressing “dynamic growth is expected for the entire year 2014.”
