Watches of Switzerland boosted by luxury watch demand in first half-year results since listing
Watches of Switzerland said today that strong demand for luxury watches had helped it boost sales and profit in its first half-year results since floating in May.
The high-end retailer said revenue grew 17 per cent to £428.7m in the six months to 27 October and adjusted profit before tax was up 112 per cent to £26.5m.
Like-for-like sales grew 10.3 per cent which the company said was driven by higher luxury watch sales.
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However, the company said it had made a £9m loss before tax in the period, which it attributed to £34.2m costs from its initial public offering and subsequent refinancing.
The group floated in London in May at 270p per share, valuing the company at nearly £650m.
The retailer floated 34 per cent of the company and said it would use the £220m raised to slash its debt pile.
Today it said net debt had fallen to £92.1m compared with £234.9m in the prior year.
Shares rose 0.3 per cent to 325p this morning.
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The company said “the markets for luxury watches remain robust in both the UK and US”.
The retailer said today it had acquired four showrooms from Fraser Hart for £31.7m.
Watches of Switzerland boss Brian Duffy said: “With a good project pipeline, we are well positioned to deliver against our strategic targets going forward.”