The company has been struggling to lift sales, particularly in the Americas - its biggest market - as shoppers shift to cheaper and chic brands, and spend lesser on accessories

NEW YORK, United States — Tiffany & Co reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, helped by strong demand for its jewellery in Japan and China as well as price hikes and lower costs.

Shares of the New York-based jeweller rose 2.5 percent to $92.25 in premarket trading on Friday.

The company has been struggling to lift sales, particularly in the Americas - its biggest market - as shoppers shift to cheaper and chic brands, and spend lesser on accessories, leading its chief executive Frederic Cumenal to step down last month.

Tiffany's Americas sales fell 3 percent to $587 million in the quarter ended Jan. 31.

The jeweller partly blamed weak sales in the holiday period on traffic disruptions at its flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York due to its proximity to Trump Tower, leading to a 7 percent drop in sales in the quarter.

Sales in Asia-Pacific, which includes China and Korea, rose 9 percent to $284 million, while sales in Japan rose 15 percent to $185 million.

Net sales rose 1.3 percent to $1.23 billion in the quarter, from $1.21 billion a year earlier, the second straight rise this year.

Net income fell to $157.8 million, or $1.26 per share, from $163.2 million, or $1.28 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned $1.45 per share.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of $1.38 per share and revenue of $1.22 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Source: businessoffashion.com