According to the results of 2013, the Swiss watch company Swatch Group's profit increased by 20.2% on a year-on-year basis and reached $ 2.1 billion (CHF 1.928 billion), Rapaport reports. The gross profit margin increased from 20.6% to 22.8%. These results reflect the receipt of a refund of $ 500 million from Tiffany & Co, who lost the lawsuit against Swatch.
Earlier, Swatch reported an increase in annual sales of the group by 8.3% to $ 9.8 billion (CHF 8.817 billion), which includes revenue for the watch brand for the entire year, revenues from sales in jewelry boutiques Harry Winston for 9 months and income from the recently acquired Rivoli Investment for two months.
The company's board of directors proposed to increase dividends to Swatch shareholders by 11.1% to $ 8.30 (CHF 7.50) per share to bearer and $ 1.70 (CHF 1.50) per registered share. The shareholders will vote on the issue of dividends at the annual general meeting of shareholders, which is scheduled for May 14, 2014.