With the Covid emergency, the Swiss Swatch Group, the world's first watch manufacturer, for 2020 closes its first budget in the red for about forty years, since in 1983 it launched the first, and revolutionary years, 12 models Swatch plastic.
The net loss in the twelve months is 53 million Swiss francs, just over 49 million euros, compared to a positive net result of around 748 million Swiss francs, around 693 million euros, in 2019, before the pandemic.
From Bienne, the group's headquarters, however, optimism filters through the communication of the 2020 results. Swatch Group "significantly increased turnover in the second half of the year in comparison with the first six months of 2020 (-14.3% compared to the same period of 2019), and at the close of the 2020 financial statements the board of directors proposed the distribution of a dividend, "thanks to the solid operating cash flow in the second half", of 3.50 Swiss francs per bearer share and 0.70 per registered share.
