Shares in Watches of Switzerland Group PLC (LSE:WOSG) tanked 25% in early trade after sounding the earnings alarm following a difficult Christmas trading period.
The company blamed “challenging macro-economic conditions impacted consumer spending in the luxury retail sector”, with the UK operation hardest hit.
As such, the company’s revenue guidance has been ‘rebased’ to £1.53-£1.55bn from as high as £1.7bn previously. The underlying (EBIT) margin, meanwhile, is likely to be 8.7-8.9%, down from last year’s 10.7%.
Chief executive Brian Duffy said: "The festive period was particularly volatile this year for the luxury sector, with consumers allocating spend to other categories such as fashion, beauty, hospitality and travel. Whilst we are disappointed with this trend, we are encouraged by our market share gains in both the US and UK.”
At 8.24 am, the stock was off 146.4p at 440.6p.