Hermes Remains Bullish on Greater China

(Bloomberg) -- Hermes International says growth in greater China remains rapid despite months of protests in the luxury shopping hub of Hong Kong.

A “slight acceleration” in mainland China will offset the impact from store closures in Hong Kong, which was most significant in August, Hermes Chief Financial Officer Eric du Halgouet said on a conference call.

“Globally, our performance in greater China has been identical,” he said. “We remain on the same trend.” Hermes shares fell less than 1% in Paris trading to 634.80 euros.

Du Halgouet spoke to reporters as Hermes reported first-half operating profit of 1.14 billion euros ($1.26 billion). Analysts had predicted 1.12 billion euros.

To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Williams in Paris at rwilliams323@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Eric Pfanner at epfanner1@bloomberg.net, Marthe Fourcade

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