Switzerland’s revaluation of the franc cost luxury goods maker Richemont 636 million euros last year. The Geneva-based group saw its profits slashed by 35 percent.
The world’s second largest luxury group which owns top global brands like Cartier, Piaget and IWC warned that its costs will now be higher.
The company said on Friday trading remained difficult in its big markets of Hong Kong and Macau. Richemont raised its prices in the eurozone and cut them in Asia in response to the weakness of the euro and the strength of the US dollar.
“We are now where we want to be,” Chairman Johann Rupert said adding the group was tightening its belt and that executives took a pay cut to help them negotiate salary readjustments with staff.
