SINGAPORE : It was business as usual when the staff at the Cortina Watch boutique at Raffles City closed shop on Christmas Day. But they returned the next morning to a shocking discovery - the loss of timepieces with a net cost of S$7.9 million from their stock.

Against the backdrop of an already weak retail outlook, Cortina Holdings on Monday warned the incident would have “an adverse impact” on the group’s results for the financial year ending March next year.

The luxury watch retailer, which has 13 boutiques in the region including six in Singapore, carries more than 50 international brands such as Audemars Piguet, Baume and Mercier, Blancpain, Patek Philippe and Bvlgari - top-end time-pieces that easily run into five- and six-figure price tags.

Assuming a maximum loss of S$7.9 million, the net asset value per share and earnings per share of the group would be reduced by 4.8 cents and 3.5 cents respectively, Cortina Holdings’ board of directors reported in a profit guidance - an outlook on predicted earnings - issued on Monday.

The police confirmed that the company had last Friday filed a report on the theft, which was discovered by staff, and that the incident was under investigation.

When contacted, the company declined to comment on what type of timepieces had been stolen or how many had been taken.

It also declined to say if the most recent theft was its biggest-ever such loss through theft. In 2001, a former sales assistant at Cortina’s Paragon outlet stole two watches worth nearly S$40,000 to settle his loanshark debts.

In its statement, the board of Cortina said the management had “swiftly taken steps to tighten security measures at all its retail outlets”, following Friday’s incident.

It added: “The Board is taking steps to conduct a comprehensive review of the Group’s security procedures and recommend measures for improvement.

“In the meantime, the management is in discussions with its insurers on the loss to the Group arising from the incident.”

The board assured shareholders that the group’s cash position remained healthy and business was carrying on at all the group’s retail outlets. Announcements would be made when there are further developments.

When contacted, a spokesperson for Raffles City, which is owned by CapitaLand, said the company was “unable to comment” as investigations are still going on. - TODAY/ar