Luxury goods maker Richemont today reported a 12% fall in profits and warned the outlook was bleak.

The firm - maker of Cartier watches and Montblanc pens - posted profits of €982 million (£880.6 million) for the year to 31 March.

Sales fell 2% in the year to €5.4 billion after a strong first half was wiped out by a dismal second period as the financial crisis plunged the world into recession.

Richemont chairman Johann Rupert said sales in April were 19% lower than in the same month last year.

"There are currently very few encouraging signs in the global economic picture," Rupert said.

"Given these conditions, we cannot predict when an overall improvement in trading will come about."

Demand for luxury goods has withered during recent months as consumers worry about job losses and shrinking wealth as a result of the worst economic downturn since the Second World War.

Norbert Platt, Richemont's chief executive, has announced that he is to retire at the end of the year after five years at the head of the company.