ZURICH, July 21, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Swiss watch giant Swatch said Tuesday that net profit in the first half fell well short of expectations, but was confident of a rebound in the second half of the year.

Swatch said in a statement that net profit fell by 5.8 percent to 16 million Swiss francs ($19.8 million) in the January-to-June period, but sales were up two percent at 3.1 billion francs.

Excluding exchange rate fluctuations, sales rose by 8.5 percent, the company noted.

Analysts surveyed by the Swiss news agency AWP had forecast profit of 95 million francs on sales of three billion francs.

The group, which owns several watch brands -- including Tissot, Longines, and Omega -- but also sells watch components such as dials and hands, insisted that there had been "robust momentum" in sales of its watch brands across "all price segments".

"The strongly marked acceleration observed in May and June, confirmed in July, enables better utilisation of production capacity and will lead to a significant improvement in profitability in the second half of the year," it said.

In May, its Swatch brand made headlines with its Royal Pop model, a watch created through a partnership with the prestigious Audemars Piguet brand, resulting in long lines outside its stores.