Audemars Piguet helps fuel booming UK luxury watch market as sales surge
The UK arm of luxury Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet has hailed its “robust financial health” after its sales jumped during 2023.
The division, which is headquartered in London, has posted a revenue of £72m for the 12 months, up from £58.7m.
Newly-filed documents with Companies House also show that its pre-tax profit increased from £3.4m to £4.4m over the same period.
A statement signed off by the board said: “In 2019 the company reinforced operations by establishing a network of three boutiques in London on New Bond Street, at Harrods and on Sloane Street.
“Since then and despite a challenging Covid context over 2020 and 2021 for the retail sector, the company has demonstrated strong and sustained financial performance.
“The directors are pleased with the results presented by these financial statements for 2023, highlighting robust financial health and a successful operational strategy.”
The wider Audemars Piguet group achieved a revenue of £2.1bn in 2023.
The results come after fellow luxury Swiss watch brand Richard Mille issued a huge dividend and hinted that 2024 will be another year of sales success.
The company’s Europe, Middle East and Africa division, which is based in London, paid out a dividend of CHF 232.1m (£213.5m) in the year 2023, up from CHF 50.7m (£46.6m), according to newly-filed accounts with Companies House.
The results also revealed that its turnover rose from CHF 378.7m to CHF 365.3m while its pre-tax profits also increased from CHF 131.4m to CHF 147.1m.
Last month it was revealed that watchmaker Christopher Ward saw its profit spike as its sales almost doubled during its latest financial year.
The business reported a turnover of £30.5m for the year to March 31, 2024, up from £16.8m. The firm’s pre-tax profits also surged from £222,000 to £3.9m.