Despite adverse conditions, the French luxury goods group Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) achieved significant growth in sales and profits in the first six months of the 2022 financial year, thereby exceeding market expectations. In the interim report published on Tuesday evening, Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault attested the group of companies an “excellent start to the year”. LVMH owed this mainly to good business in Europe and the USA, while development in Asia was slowed down by the tightening of corona protection measures in China.
In the months from January to June, group sales amounted to 36.7 billion euros, which means an increase of 28 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. On an organic basis – i.e. adjusted for acquisitions and sales as well as exchange rate fluctuations – sales increased by 21 percent. In the second quarter (+27 percent), the pace of growth was only slightly lower than in the first three months (+29 percent).
The growth engine remains the business with fashion and leather goods
All Group segments contributed to the clear plus with double-digit sales improvements. Fashion and leather goods showed the most dynamic growth, increasing by 31 percent (+24 percent organically) to EUR 18.1 billion. The company particularly emphasized the strong growth of the brands Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Fendi, Celine, Loro Piana and Loewe, without giving specific figures.
In the retail division with the chains DFS and Sephora, sales grew by 30 percent (organically +22 percent) to 6.6 billion euros, sales of wine and spirits increased by 23 percent (organically +14 percent) to 3.3 billion euros to. The watches and jewelry segment achieved an increase of 22 percent (organically +16 percent) to 4.9 billion euros, sales of perfumes and cosmetics reached a level of 3.6 billion euros and thus exceeded the corresponding level of the previous year by 20 percent (organic +13 percent).
CEO Arnault is confident, but urges vigilance
Thanks to a slight improvement in the operating margin, the operating result adjusted for special effects rose by 34 percent to 10.2 billion euros. Net profit attributable to shareholders was EUR 6.5 billion in the first six months, up 23 percent year-on-year.
Group CEO Arnault was cautiously optimistic despite the numerous global uncertainties: “We are entering the second half of the year with confidence, but given the current geopolitical and health situation, we will remain vigilant and count on the agility and talent of our teams to maintain our global leadership position in the to further strengthen the luxury goods sector in 2022,” he said in a statement.