Hayek confident about Swatch group sales

Nicolas Hayek looks towards another successful year Keystone

The head of the Swatch group, Nicolas Hayek, has said that sales for the first five months of the year are above last year's figures and the outlook for the year as a whole is for growth of between 10 and 12 per cent.

The group, which includes the Breguet, Blancpain, Omega, Longines and Tissot brands, increased sales last year by 17.6 per cent to SFr4.26 billion ($2.41 billion), with profits jumping by nearly 50 per cent to SFr651 million.

In an interview with the Swiss News Agency, Hayek said that the luxury segment continued to perform at high levels.

The Breguet brand increased sales by 35.4 per cent over the first five months of the year. “This is partly due to the increase in the average price but especially to the number of pieces sold,” Hayek said.

Production of Breguet watches should reach 10,500 this year, with the brand achieving sales of SFr120 million.

Hayek said that June was proving to be a “very good” month, while making the point that the period between September and November usually represented more than 50 per cent of total sales.

He once again criticised the stock exchange. “It’s a bit like the lottery. You can only really determine the value of an enterprise over a number of years,” he said.

Commenting on the volatility of markets, Hayek said, “I only have to cough or go to the toilet to make the share price go up or down.”

swissinfo with agencies