Swatch, like many others, is suffering from the sluggish economy in the luxury goods sector. In the first six months of the year, sales fell by 14.3% and profits were divided by three.
It is in its high-end segment - where the Group operates the Omega, Breguet and Blancpain brands - that the decline is most marked. In the entry- and mid-range segment, its eponymous brand, Tissot and Longines, however, managed to hold their own.
The ultra-dependence of Swatch's results on the Chinese market - it is not alone in this respect - is once again clearly demonstrated, as its record performances in the United States and Japan - its third largest export market - are not enough to halt its decline.
As we wrote last year, the Swiss brand remains caught in the crossfire. In watchmaking, the luxury segment is expanding, but the Group, which is neither Patek nor Rolex, is capturing only a marginal share of it.
In other segments, competition from smartwatches is becoming more formidable by the year. This difficult positioning has resulted in steadily declining sales and profits over the last ten years.
The situation would not be remarkable if Swatch's valuation had not fallen to an attractive level. Its market capitalization recently fell to eight billion Swiss francs, in other words, the value of its net working capital - its cash and inventories minus all debts.
This meant that the market placed no value on the Group's fixed assets, the most important of which is its brand portfolio. An oddity for a group which, after all, has only had one loss-making financial year - in 2021, during the pandemic - in ten years.
The share price rebounded last week, however, following fresh rumors of privatization. CEO Georges Nicolas Hayek - the group's fifth-largest shareholder - announced his support for such a move, although he stressed that the rumor was "pure speculation" for the time being.