Swatch sales slide more than forecast on weak Chinese demand

Gdansk — Swatch’s sales fell more than expected in the first half of 2025, the company said on Thursday, as the Swiss watchmaker faced continued weakness in its main market, China.

The maker of Omega, Longines and Tissot, with its plastic Swatch watches, said its half-year sales fell 7.1% at constant exchange rates to Sf3.06bn, compared with a year earlier.

That missed the Sf3.2bn expected by analysts polled by LSEG.

Swatch shares were up 2.7% to Sf140.85 in morning trade after rising as much as 5.4% on Thursday.

Vontobel analyst Jean-Philippe Bertschy said a “bottoming-out” in China and growth in top markets such as the US were behind the rise, which still leaves the shares about 15% down so far this year.

With 16 brands, the company sells watches ranging in price from under Sf100 to more than Sf40,000.

Swatch said the sales decline was down to weakness in China and that other regions reached record levels of sales. This included North America, which saw double-digit sales growth.

Thursday’s results were the first since US President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements, which have driven up the Swiss franc, making the Swiss watch industry's exports more expensive for foreign buyers.

Swatch flagged a negative currency effect of Sf113m in its half-year results, its net sales having fallen 10.4% at current rates.

Half-year operating profit fell nearly 67% from the same period last year to Sf68m, while its net result plummeted 88% from last year, now at Sf17m.

China, Hong Kong and Macau generated 24% of sales. The company said wholesale business in the region declined by more than 30%, partly due to the closure of third-party stores. Its retail business decreased 15%.

But the group said it expected the market environment in the Greater China region to improve in the second half of the year.

Jefferies analysts said it was possible Swatch’s Chinese business had halved in the past two years.

Reuters