Swatch CEO comes under fire from investors after profit warning

Zurich

SWATCH Group AG chief executive officer Nick Hayek came under fire from investors for what they called unrealistic projections and a resistance to adapt to a deteriorating market, after the Swiss watchmaker reported collapsing earnings.

The company caught markets off guard on Friday by releasing preliminary results, saying that profit slid as much as 60 per cent in the first half and predicting a sales drop this year when Mr Hayek had previously seen a gain. The stock slumped as much as 14 per cent, the most in more than a year, before closing down 7.8 per cent.