By John Revill
ZURICH--Swatch Group AG (UHR.VX) Thursday reported a 27% drop in
earnings as the world's largest watchmaker weighs the impact of the
recent surge in the value of the Swiss franc on its business.
Biel-based Swatch, which owns Omega, Longines and Tissot, said
net profit for the year to Dec. 31 fell to 1.42 billion Swiss
francs ($1.54 billion) from CHF1.93 billion a year earlier. The
figure missed analyst expectations of CHF1.48 billion.
Gross sales, which doesn't include rebates given back to
retailers, increased 4.6% to CHF9.22 billion from CHF8.82 billion
in the year before period, beating forecasts of CHF9.05
billion.
Swatch said January had started "very auspiciously" and it
expected to generate high single digit growth during 2015 despite
the "highly overvalued Swiss franc." The currency has surged in
value since the Swiss central bank's decision to scrap a long
standing cap on the currency on Jan. 15.
Write to John Revill at john.revill@wsj.com
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