Luxury goods group Richemont beats sales expectations

Swiss luxury goods group Richemont, owner of the Cartier and Montblanc brands, has announced a better-than-expected increase in sales, driven by greater consumer demand from Asia.

Richemont said its third-quarter sales had grown by one third to 2.1bn euros ($2.8bn; £1.8bn).

While Europe is still the group's biggest market, sales in Asia were up 57% from the same period last year.

However, the firm warned that that the fourth quarter would be tougher.

Chief executive Johann Rupert warned that it would be "more challenging" for the firm to meet such expectations at the end of the financial year, with concerns over the effect of the strong Swiss franc.

Richemont is the world's second largest luxury goods group, behind French rival LVMH group.