By Mimosa Spencer
PARIS (Reuters) -Strong demand for Louis Vuitton and Dior products helped lift first-quarter sales at the world’s largest luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, showing the sector’s resilience despite geopolitical tensions and volatile stock markets.
LVMH, which owns brands spanning Hennessy cognac and Sephora, said like-for-like sales, which strip out the effect of currency changes, rose by 23% in the three months to March to 18 billion euros.
The figure beat a consensus estimate for 18% growth, cited by Jefferies.
High-end fashion brands drove a 30% rise in sales of its largest division, fashion and leather goods, on a like-for-like basis, beating analyst expectations of 17%, according to consensus estimates cited by RBC.
“The year starts on a high note,” said Luca Solca of Bernstein, citing “another material beat” of consensus expectations, particularly the fashion and leather goods activity.
The company said it remained “both vigilant and confident” at the start of the year, and that growth in Asia continued over the quarter “despite the impact of a tightening of health restrictions in China.”
The selective retail division, which includes Sephora, clocked 24% organic sales growth, lifted by traffic in the U.S., France and the Middle East.
(Reporting by Mimosa Spencer; editing by David Evans; Editing by David Gregorio)
