Richemont edges into the digital age
Johann Rupert wants to address the demands of luxury consumers in a rapidly changing trading environment
The underwhelming dividend declaration by Richemont for its financial year to end-March, coupled with a sizeable bond issue recently, suggests the Rupert-family luxury brands conglomerate may be weighing up acquisitions. The company certainly has the balance sheet to accommodate a more generous payout — but Richemont is on the cusp of a transformation process aimed at positioning the business at the cutting edge of the customer interface. Analysts at Richemont’s investor presentation last week reminded executives that chair Johann Rupert had pointed to a sustainable annual dividend increase in the midteens. One noted: "You’ve had mid-single-digit dividend increases for two years now. "I think this is probably not what some investors signed on for."
Richemont CFO Burkhart Grund conceded that the 15% annual dividend increase had been floating around for a long time. "I personally haven’t found when it started, but we can definitely have another look at that." He argued that a 6%...
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