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It returned to a net profit of 774 million Swiss francs ($845 million), from a 53 million loss in 2020, while sales at constant currency rose nearly 30% to 7.31 billion francs, the maker of Omega and Longines watches said in a statement https://www.swatchgroup.com/en/services/archive/2022/swatch-group-key-figures-2021 on Tuesday.
Sales of Swiss watches recovered strongly last year from the slump caused by pandemic-related lockdowns, but Swatch Group has been losing market share to industry major Rolex and connected watches like the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Watch.
Its shares, which rose significantly less than peers last year, fell out of the blue-chip SMI index in September.
Peer Richemont also posted a sales jump this month thanks to its strong jewellery business amid a wider luxury goods revival.
Swatch Group’s operating margin reached 14%, after 0.9% last year and 12.4% in 2019. Its Watches & Jewelry segment (excluding production) had an operating margin of 17.7% for the entire year and 18.4% in the second half.
It said its board of directors would decide on its dividend proposal at its next meeting.
($1 = 0.9159 Swiss francs)
