RAPAPORT... April saw Swiss watch exports return to the downward trend
that has characterized the industry’s performance over the past two years, as
demand from Hong Kong and the US slumped.
Shipments of timepieces fell 5.7% to $1.58 billion (CHF 1.53
billion) last month compared with the previous year, the Federation of the
Swiss Watch Industry reported Tuesday. This followed a more positive March,
in which a recovery in Hong Kong and China drove a 7.5% global rise in exports.
Swiss watch exports have now declined year on year in 21 out of the past 22
months.
April figures for Hong Kong, the Swiss watch trade’s largest
export market, were somber once again, with shipments down 17% to $186 million
(CHF 180.9 million). Orders from the US dropped 19% to $160.5 million (CHF
156.1 million), outweighing a 39% jump in exports to China, which came to
$128.3 million (CHF 124.8 million). Shipments to the UK grew 30% to $113
million (CHF 109.9 million).
Still, the overall decline was less severe than anticipated,
the federation said. The fact that April contained three fewer working days
than it did last year had prompted more ominous expectations.
“In spite of the tougher comparison base in April, low
single-digit growth would have been a very good result, while flat would have
been okay, so being slightly down is a little disappointing, but not the end of
the world,” Bloomberg quoted John Guy, an analyst at MainFirst Bank, as saying.
By material, precious-metal-watch exports dropped 13% to
$498.4 million (CHF 484.7 million), while steel-timepiece shipments slipped 2.4%
to $602.9 million (CHF 586.3 million). Exports of watches containing both gold
and steel grew 6% to $256.9 million (CHF 249.8 million).
Image: Newscast
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