Swatch 2004 Sales Increase 4.5% on Asian Demand

Swatch 2004 Sales Increase 4.5% on Asian Demand

Hugo Miller Associated Press Geneva

Swatch Group, the world's largest watchmaker, said full-year revenue increased 4.5 percent last year as the Swiss company sold more of its Omega and Rado watches in the Asian countries including China and Japan.

Sales climbed to 4.15 billion Swiss francs (US$3.49 billion) from 3.97 billion francs a year earlier, Swatch said today in an e- mailed statement. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News expected sales of 4.24 billion francs, according to their median estimate.

"While Europe proved an extremely challenging environment for many brands, the markets in Asia and the Middle East generally performed very well," Biel, Switzerland-based Swatch said in an e- mailed statement.

Like Cie. Financiere Richemont AG, a Swiss competitor, Swatch is opening outlets in Asia to tap demand for the company's most expensive brands. The region accounts for about a third of Swatch's revenue and the company is trying to fuel growth by building a flagship store in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district.

Swatch's registered shares rose 15 percent in 2004. Shares of Richemont, the maker of Cartier watches, gained 27 percent during that period, while LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the world's biggest luxury-goods company and maker of Tag Heuer watches, dropped 2.3 percent.

The pick-up in demand from Asian consumers helped Swatch overcome the Swiss franc's 8.3 percent gain against the dollar last year, which eroded the value of U.S. revenue. The company generates about 12 percent of its revenue from the U.S. and 50 percent from Europe.

Swatch expects "solid growth" in Swiss francs this year and will examine any acquisition opportunities "in depth," according to the statement.