Good business with leather and fashion has given the luxury goods group LVMH a brilliant start to the year.
In the first quarter, sales grew by 17 percent year-on-year to a good 21 billion euros, as the supplier of fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton, Rimowa suitcases and Hennessy Cognac announced in Paris on Wednesday.
Quarterly sales exceeded average analyst expectations by more than a billion euros. Sales beat analyst consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg and Factset, coming in at €19.71 billion and €19.98 billion, respectively.
“LVMH has had an excellent start to the new year, although the geopolitical and economic environment has remained uncertain in recent years,” the group said in a statement.
Good start for Louis Vuitton, Dior and Celine
The fashion and leather goods industry, LVMH’s most important division, continued to contribute the majority of sales. LVMH’s flagship division posted more than €10 billion in the first quarter, up 18 percent compared to the first quarter.
Louis Vuitton, which surpassed €20 billion in sales in 2022 in 2023, “is off to an excellent start to the year,” according to LVMH, which rarely details its brands’ sales. Christian Dior “continues a remarkable achievement for all its products”. Delphine Arnault, the daughter of LVMH boss Bernard Arnault, took over the management of the fashion house in early February. The Celine brand surpassed the 2 billion mark in sales in 20222 and continues its “very high growth”.
draft horse Sephora
The Selective Distribution division, which includes Sephora and DFS (Duty Free), saw sales increase by 30 percent to almost 4 billion euros. That was due to an “extraordinary performance” by cosmetics chain Sephora — particularly in North America, Europe and the Middle East. The brand, which already has an online presence in the UK, opened its first store in London in early March. DFS, the duty-free business, is benefiting from the recovery in international travel and, in particular, the gradual return of travelers to its Hong Kong and Macau flagships.
The watch and jewelry division grew by 11 percent to 2.6 billion euros in sales. The perfumes and cosmetics segment grew by 11 percent to sales of 2.1 billion euros. he wine and spirits business with brands such as Moët & Chandon, Veuve Cliquot and Cheval Blanc recorded sales of 1.7 billion euros, which corresponds to an increase of three percent.
The news was well received on the financial market: In after-hours trading on the Tradegate platform, the LVMH share, which is listed in the Eurozone index EuroStoxx 50, rose by almost two percent compared to the closing price on the stock exchange.
LVMH surpassed €400 billion in market cap in January, a first for a European company. According to the annual Forbes list for 2023, CEO Bernard Arnault and his family are the richest people in the world with an estimated fortune of 211 billion US dollars. (dpa / AFP)