People queue outside a Cartier store on New Bond Street in London, Britain, March 11, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

By John Revill

ZURICH (Reuters) -Cartier-owner Richemont reported on Friday quarterly sales that were well ahead of forecasts as the luxury group said it had navigated "unprecedented" global headwinds marked by currency movements, rising gold prices and U.S. tariffs.

The United States and Switzerland have edged closer to a trade deal to reduce President Donald Trump's crippling 39% tariffs on Swiss imports and shrink Switzerland's trade surplus after talks in Washington on Thursday, their officials said.

The United States is Richemont's biggest single market, generating about 22% of sales. The company's other brands include watchmakers IWC, Piaget and Jaeger-LeCoultre, as well as jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels.

Quarterly sales were up 14% at constant exchange rates in the July to September period, the company said. The figure of 5.21 billion euros ($6.08 billion) beat forecasts for 5.0 billion euros in a Visible Alpha poll of analysts.

"The group delivered a remarkable top-line performance in the first half, led by sustained local demand," said Chairman Johann Rupert, referring to an increase of 10% in sales over the period from April to September.

In the last few months the group has battled an "unprecedented" combination of external macroeconomic headwinds, including material currency movements, rising gold prices and the first impact of additional U.S. tariffs, he added.

Sales in the Asia-Pacific region, Richemont's most important market dominated by China, saw sales rise by 10% at constant exchange rates.

China, combined with Hong Kong and Macau, returned to growth during the quarter, Richemont said, hailing a "noticeable improvement" in the local sales trend. It was the first positive reading in almost two years.

Even stronger growth was seen in the Americas, where sales surged 20%, when currency effects were removed.

The trading update from Richemont, which weathered the luxury sector's recent slump better than most peers, thanks to its strength in jewellery, pointed to a broader recovery in the market for high-end products.

Shareholders' net profit rose to 1.80 billion euros, 1.35 billion more than last year, when Richemont posted a 1.2-billion-euro non-cash writedown of assets held by online luxury portal YNAP, which it sold to digital retailer group MyTheresa.

Richemont said the impact of the additional U.S. tariffs had been limited during the first half of its financial year, which runs to the end of September, as the company juggled inventories to tackle the situation.

But for the full year, it said the tariffs could cost it about 300 million euros, if unaltered.

($1=0.8575 euros)

(Reporting by John Revill, Additional reporting by Marleen Kasebier; Editing by Tassilo Hummel and Clarence Fernandez)