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Geneva--Luxury goods conglomerate Richemont saw total sales increase 29 percent in the five-month period ended Aug. 31 but said it doesn’t expect to maintain this sales level due to problems in the global economy.

According to results released ahead of Richemont’s annual general meeting on Wednesday, the Jewellery Maisons group, comprised of Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, recorded the strongest results, with sales climbing 34 percent.

Sales were up 28 percent for the group’s Specialist Watchmakers. The watch brands owned by Richemont are: Jaeger-LeCoultre, Piaget, IWC, Baume & Mercier, Vacheron Constantin, Officine Panerai, A. Lange & Söhne and Roger Dubuis, as well as the watch and jewelry joint venture with Ralph Lauren.

Montblanc Maison sales rose 10 percent while other sales, including Alfred Dunhill, Chloé, Lancel and online luxury fashion retailer Net-a-Porter.com, rose 24 percent during the period. 

Geographically, sales in the Asia-Pacific region rose most sharply at 46 percent. Sales in the Americas recorded a “notable” increase at 26 percent, while sales were up 21 percent in Europe and 7 percent in Japan, Richemont said.

Retail sales (up 37 percent) turned in a stronger performance than wholesale sales (up 22 percent), with Richemont crediting strong sales in its boutiques, the expansion of its retail network in the Asia-Pacific region and strong growth at Net-a-Porter.com.

Richemont Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Johann Rupert said the company does not expect to maintain these sales levels going forward, given the turmoil in the global economy.

“The rest of the financial year is difficult to predict. The problems of fiscal deficits generally and Euro zone difficulties in particular are likely to act as a drag on business prospects for companies in the period ahead, especially if growth markets are affected,” he said. “To hope for a continuation of the current good trading levels in such circumstances may be over-optimistic. In addition, we must keep in mind the demanding comparative figures against which sales in the coming six months will be measured.”

He said the appreciation of the Swiss franc against other major currencies also is problematic for the company, which has a significant production base in Switzerland.

“The stronger Swiss franc will continue to be negative for our cost of sales and operating expenses, maintaining negative pressure on our margins,” Rupert said.