GENEVA, Sept 13, 2007 (AFP) - Richemont, the world's second-biggest luxury goods group, said on Thursday September 13th that its sales had risen by 11.0 percent in the first five months, from April to August, of its 2007-8 financial year.

Montblanc's pen, one of the Richemont brands

Richemont, a holding company controlled by the South African Rupert family, did not provide the sales figure.

The company, which owns some of the world's most prestigious luxury brand names, ranging from Cartier, Piaget and Van Cleef to Dunhill, Lancel and Montblanc, said its sales in constant exchange rate terms increased by 17.0 percent.

The group's watch-making business grew the most, with sales at actual exchange rates jumping 20 percent, while it's jewellery business, comprising Cartier and and Van Cleef and Arpels, grew by eight percent.

"Currently, my principal concern is the capacity of our Maisons -- particularly those in the watchmaking sector -- to meet demand," the group's executive chairman Johann Rupert said in a statement.

Pen-maker Montblanc's sales meanwhile grew 11 percent and leather and accessory company Chloe saw its sales leap 12 percent, Richemont said.

The company's sales did best in Asia, where they grew 22 percent, while its results were up 14 percent in Europe and six percent in the America's.