May 7 (Reuters) – Swiss duty-free retailer Avolta reported ‌a fall in quarterly ‌turnover on Thursday and said ​it would adjust costs to protect profits, cash flow and capital allocation as ‌the Middle ⁠East conflict remained a near-term risk.

The company, ⁠which runs shops at airports, on cruise ​liners, in seaports, ​and ​other tourist ‌locations worldwide, posted a core turnover of 2.9 billion Swiss francs ($3.72 billion) for the first quarter, down ‌from 3.05 billion ​a year earlier.

“Current ​external ​uncertainties are expected ‌to be temporary ​in nature,” ​the company said, confirming its medium-term targets.

($1 = 0.7787 ​Swiss ‌francs)

(Reporting by Ozan Ergenay ​in Gdansk; Editing by ​Mrigank Dhaniwala)