Watches of Switzerland Q1 revenue doubles

Watches of Switzerland's revenue doubled in the first quarter as customers snapped up Rolex and other luxury timepieces online.

Revenue rose to £297.5m in the three months to 1 August at constant currency from £151.6m a year earlier and by 46% compared with two years earlier, the company said in a trading update. Statutory revenue rose 96.2% from a year earlier.

Watch sales rose 97.1% to £259.3m and jewellery sales jumped 99% to £20.1m. The group said online sales fuelled strong UK sales, offsetting subdued store traffic. US growth was driven by higher volumes.

Watches of Switzerland has reported strong demand for its products, driven partly by people spending money stored up during lockdowns and working from home on high-end wristwear. It said the first quarter supported its confidence in the full-year outlook.

Brian Duffy, chief executive, said: "We have had a very good start to the new financial year with a further acceleration in momentum, versus pre Covid-19 pandemic growth levels, underpinned by diversified growth across our markets and categories.

"Trading in the UK has been extremely strong, driven by sustained high demand from domestic clientele. Our newly opened and refurbished stores have performed well, whilst our ecommerce business has also continued to grow impressively, proving the effectiveness of our multi-channel model."

Watches of Switzerland shares rose 2.7% to £10.52 at 09:26 BST, touching a record £10.66 in earlier trading. The shares have almost quadrupled in the past year.