Hermes sees a sharp rise in profits in the first half of

  French luxury group Hermes has a forecast beating 14% rise in operating profit for the first half year published , thanks to strong demand for its leather accessories and silk.

The manufacturer of € 6.000 to 30.000 Birkin and Kelly bags reported operating profit amounted to € 584.1m ( € 498 million ), which gives the group a margin of 33.1 %.

Hermes was , according to Thomson Reuters expected a profit of € 570 million to write .

Hermes has also confirmed that the operating margin in 2013 was close to the record in 2012 of 32.1 %.

Last month, Hermes reported a forecast beating 16 % increase in sales in the second quarter at constant exchange rates , marking an improvement from a 12.8% increase in the first quarter.

At that time he said he was getting closer to the operating margin reached record levels last year , according to the prediction of a decline.

It provides that the revenue growth for the full year the goal of the medium-term growth of 10% and an operating profit increase would slightly exceed slightly faster than incomes .

Hermes reaffirmed revenue forecasts on Friday , adding that the net cash amounted to € 596 at the end of June.