The stock of luxury goods maker Richemont rallied on Friday to close at a record, adding R55bn to its market value on the day.
With a primary listing on the Swiss Exchange, the R1.58-trillion company has a secondary listing on the JSE and counts Compagnie Financiere Rupert as its largest shareholder. A secondary listing of its A shares on the JSE is slated for April 19.
The share price of the owner of luxury brands such as Cartier, Montblanc, Dunhill, Chloe and Piaget was up 3.63% at R303.65 on Friday, the highest close price on record since its listing.
Analyst Zuzanna Pusz of UBS Research said on Thursday she considers the stock attractive and recommends it with a “buy” rating.
In January, Richemont reported sales rose 8% to €5.4bn (R108.04bn) in the three months to end-December, up from €4.98bn a year earlier. This missed the €5.67bn forecast by analysts. Excluding currency movements, the company’s sales rose 5%.
Higher sales were the result of tourists returning to Europe and Japan, but the luxury group missed market estimates after sales in China plunged by almost a quarter.
US tourists took advantage of the stronger dollar to buy Cartier jewellery and Swiss watches outside the US in the December quarter, leading to a sharp rise in sales in Europe and Japan. But the mainland Chinese market, which accounts for about a fifth of the group’s sales according to Zuercher Kantonalbank estimates, struggled as Covid-19 cases surged during the period, Richemont said at the time.
Group chair Johann Rupert — who owns all the nonlisted category B shares, representing about a tenth of the capital but 50% of the voting rights — recently warned of uncertainty ahead, due to the risks posed by rising interest rates and cost of living pressures.
The group recently launched a digital platform, Enquirus, which aims to reduce watch and jewellery theft and to authenticate second-hand sales.
With Reuters
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