{"text":[[{"start":8.28,"text":"Hermès shares dropped sharply as ongoing weakness in the Chinese luxury market outweighed a pick-up in sales overall in the second quarter."}],[{"start":16.56,"text":"Shares at Hermès fell 10 per cent on Wednesday morning, leading to a temporary suspension in trading."}],[{"start":22.6,"text":"Hermès’s second-quarter performance marked a modest acceleration for the maker of Birkin bags, after the sharp impact from the fall in tourist shopping in the Gulf in March. That failed to impress investors who have queried the stock’s high valuation relative to peers in recent months."}],[{"start":38.6,"text":"The Paris-listed leather goods specialist reported sales of €4.1bn in the second quarter at constant exchange rates, up 7 per cent compared with the previous year and in line with analysts’ forecasts."}],[{"start":51.16,"text":"It caps a mixed quarter for luxury groups, leading to volatile share moves. Richemont posted a blockbuster beat on the strength of its jewellery brands, including Cartier, while LVMH and Kering showed improved trends from a lower base."}],[{"start":65.04,"text":"Kering shares rose 12 per cent on Wednesday after it returned to organic growth for the first time in three years. LVMH rose 1 per cent while Richemont fell 1.3 per cent."}],[{"start":76.28,"text":"Demand for high-end handbags and silk scarves helped sales at Hermès rise in the second quarter, as demand in Europe, the US and Japan helped offset a slowdown in the Middle East."}],[{"start":87,"text":"Executive chair Axel Dumas said the group did not see a “tremendous improvement” in China, a key market for luxury that is weathering a multiyear slowdown. However, he announced that Hermès would present its first haute couture collection in 2027, joining houses such as Chanel and Dior in this rarefied field."}],[{"start":105.92,"text":"Hermès is usually viewed as one of the most resilient names in luxury thanks to demand that outstrips supply for its hit bags and a wealthy client base."}],[{"start":114.64,"text":"“In the first half of 2026, Hermès delivered a solid performance . . . we look to the second semester with confidence,” said Dumas."}],[{"start":122.16,"text":"Recurring operating income at Hermès for the first half of 2026 was €3.4bn compared with €3.3bn in the first half of 2025, at a margin of 41 per cent."}],[{"start":134.2,"text":"“The company remains well positioned for long-term growth. That said, shares have underperformed over the past 12 months as growth normalises to high single digits,” said Thomas Chauvet at Citi, noting that Hermès had delivered “unsustainably strong” like-for-like compound annual growth of 18 per cent from 2019 to 2024."}],[{"start":154.44,"text":"All of Hermès’s markets except the Middle East rose in the three months to the end of June, where trading has been affected by the conflict between the US and Iran. Sales in the Middle East region fell 2.4 per cent in the period, an improvement on the first quarter when sales fell 5.9 per cent. Sales in Asia increased 4.4 per cent in the quarter, in line with expectations."}],[{"start":176.12,"text":"Eric du Halgouët, executive vice-president for finance, said the conflict had knocked 1.5 percentage points off group sales growth in the first half."}],[{"start":185.14,"text":"Sales in Japan and the Americas both increased by double digits, as did sales at Hermès’s biggest division, which sells leather goods, rising 10.2 per cent in the quarter."}],[{"start":195.24,"text":"Revenues from Hermès-branded perfume and beauty products fell 9.5 per cent in the second quarter, raising questions about its appeal among aspirational middle-class shoppers."}],[{"start":209.76,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1785325508_8003.mp3"}