The global economic picture may be grim but Compagnie Financière Richemont SA, the luxury goods group behind Cartier, Piaget, IWC, Panerai and many other luxury brands had a pretty good fiscal year. They reported that for their year ending March 31, the company had an 18 percent rise in net profits to 1.57 billion euros, or $2.22 billion, on a 10 percent increase in sales to 5.3 billion euros, or $7.51 billion. The strong brands included the group's watch and jewelry businesses while Chloé, its main women's wear business was relatively flat. Obviously this is good news but these days no company spokesperson can comment on earnings without a bit of gloom and doom. WWD reports that Johann Rupert, Richemont's chairman delivered the same cautious but hopeful line that we've seen from other luxury companies. Many including LVMH and Hermes have predicted that even in these tough times their profits will continue to rise.
