Swiss watch Swatch to do electric car battery

Three years ago, the world's largest watch maker Swatch Group triumphed, winning record sales. And when Swatch CEO Nick Hayek was interviewed by several newspapers in early 2015 and early 2016, he announced that he took the company in a completely new direction by launching a battery project for electric vehicles that will reach 100 to 2020 15 billion US dollars in sales targets.

However, investors said the plan was costly and impractical. Group sales in 2016 are expected to be lower than last year's CHF 8.45 billion (about USD 8.36 billion). Inventories rose and Hayek declined to meet the daily efficiency target The reduction of funding led investors to question the strategy of the Group.

Urs Beck, a fund manager at EFG Asset Management, named Swatch as one of the top ten controlling assets, saying that Hayek had lost the trust of some investors because the latter did not always predict It is true.

"When he says 10, you know it's actually 5," Baker said. "There's very little information on the Swatch battery, and Hayek's prediction often takes a long time to come through."

Carine Menache runs an investment company holding a large number of Swatch shares. She thinks the road ahead is certainly not flat, but she continues as usual, she Masukura when the share price fell below 250 francs in August.

"It seems like a trick, but I hope it is not an investment strategy," she said, adding that Hayek is a good manager, but the product should be diversified, more involved in luxury accessories and more Limited edition or smart watch.

"I have not heard that they are cutting costs, but they should do it."

A spokesman for the Swatch Group declined to comment on the group strategy. He said the company has been managing costs, but does not intend to cut production capacity now or in the future.

Turning to the statement made by Hayek in October this year when he accepted the "handelszeitung" in Switzerland, he said: "We are not just waiting, we are moving forward, but there is no reason to change our strategy." As for efficiency and cost We always try to be better. "

Hayek often emphasizes that he and his family, the controlling shareholders of the group, will not cut jobs or raise prices to please the financial markets seeking short-term profits.

So far this year, Swatch shares fell another 10%, down 21% last year. In contrast, rival Richemont shares fell 7% and 19% respectively. Swatch is 85% of Richemont in terms of 12-month P / E.

According to IHS Markit, short-term interest on Swatch's bearer shares is above 20%, less than the peak of earlier this year, but remains high, reflecting bearish sentiment and further declines in share prices.