Tiffany reported a 4% rise in worldwide net sales to US$ 1 billion during the three-month period ended October 31, 2018 (Q3), driven mainly by higher spending by local customers in all regions, partly offset by lower spending attributed to foreign tourists, primarily Chinese, in certain regions. In the same period, comparable sales rose 2%. The Company said that growth was in all regions and in most product categories.

However, Q3 net earnings declined 5% to US$ 95 million, from US$ 100 million a year ago due to planned higher strategic investment spending in the quarter and year-to-date, which is intended to support long-term sustainable sales growth; while higher gross margins and lower effective tax rates had positive effects on net earnings. 

For the year-to-date, worldwide net sales rose 10% to US$ 3.1 billion, due to increased sales in all regions and product categories; comparable sales rose 7%, while net earnings rose 24% to US$ 382 million, from US$ 308 million a year ago.

In terms of jewellery categories sales in the third quarter and year-to-date were as follows: Jewelry Collections increased 8% and 15%, respectively, Engagement Jewelry increased 2% and 7%, respectively, and Designer Jewelry sales declined 8% and rose 3%, respectively, the company said.  

While the company reported growth across all regions, net sales for Q3 and YTD in the Americas were up 5% to US$ 442 million and 7% to US$ 1.3 billion; in Asia Pacific they were up 4% to US$ 294 million and 19% to US$ 923 million; in Japan they rose 2% to US$ 142 million and 10% to US$ 447 million; and in Europe, were up 3% to US$ 114 million and 6% to US$ 343 million, respectively.

Alessandro Bogliolo, Chief Executive Officer, said, “It is worth noting that in the third quarter our sales attributed to local customers continued to grow at a strong rate worldwide and were positive in every region, with particularly strong growth in mainland China. Jewelry volumes also increased in the quarter and year to date. This resulted in mid-single-digit net sales growth in the quarter and even higher growth year-to-date, despite lower-than-expected spending in the third quarter attributed to Chinese tourists in the U.S. and Hong Kong and lower wholesale travel-retail sales in Korea.” 

 He added, “Our full year outlook is unchanged. We believe we have substantial growth opportunities to pursue as a geographically-diversified luxury brand and are not distracted by external factors, such as the negative effects of a strong U.S. dollar or fluctuations in tourist spending. Our teams are truly excited about the activities planned for the holiday season and are deeply committed to achieving the long-term growth potential of this legendary brand.”

Tiffany said that its outlook for fiscal 2018 remained unchanged and worldwide net sales are expected to increase by a high-single-digit percentage over the prior year