Worst problems behind Richemont

SWISS luxury goods giant Richemont, whose brands include Cartier, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Alfred Dunhill, on Thursday called the end of the two-year slump in the global luxury goods business.

Chairman Johann Rupert said: 'It appears the worst problems that the luxury goods world has faced in recent months and years may be behind us.'

Richemont's sales, which began to pick up in June, showed a like-for-like 1% increase in October. But sales for the half-year to 30 September fell 14% to e1.53bn (£1.06bn) due to the knock-on effects of the Iraq war, Sars virus and the strong euro. Net profit slumped 28% to e289m.