Richemont’s April Sales Unexpectedly Drop Ahead of Price Changes

PARIS, France — Richemont, the maker of Cartier jewellery and Montblanc pens, reported an unexpected decline in April sales as retailers delayed purchases in anticipation of price adjustments.

Sales fell 8 percent excluding currency shifts, the Geneva- based owner of brands including Jaeger-LeCoultre and Chloe said in a statement Friday. That compares with the median analyst estimate for 2.8 percent growth in a Bloomberg survey.

The luxury-goods industry is grappling with currency volatility and a slowdown in sales in Hong Kong, a major source of revenue where shoppers from the Chinese mainland traditionally have splurged to take advantage of lower taxes. This week, Burberry Group Plc abandoned a forecast for a 50- million-pound benefit from currency shifts that it made just one month ago. Currency shifts are forcing luxury companies to adjust prices to try to maintain uniform levels across the world.

"The first two weeks of May indicated some normalization of the wholesale market," Chairman Johann Rupert said in the statement. The 64-year-old former banker returned to Richemont in September after a one-year sabbatical. He added that the company is looking to the future "positively."

The company, whose full name is Cie. Financiere Richemont SA, will pay a dividend of 1.60 francs a share, exceeding the Bloomberg dividend forecast of 1.40 francs.

By Corinne Gretler; editors: Matthew Boyle, Thomas Mulier, Tom Lavell.