Hermes annual profit jumps
French luxury bag maker Hermes International, in which LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton has built a stake, reported a surge in full-year earnings as improved confidence among wealthy customers boosted revenue.
Operating profit jumped 44% to EUR668.2 million, the Paris-based company reported on 4 March, 2011, beating the EUR661.7 million average estimate of 11 analysts compiled by Bloomberg. Sales rose 25% to EUR2.4 billion and margins exceeded a forecast that Hermes raised last month.
“This performance reflects the quality of our corporate model and the efficiency of our staff who implement it,” said CEO Patrick Thomas.
Hermes aims for average annual sales growth of about 10%, Mr Thomas said at a press conference.
The company will add 13 stores in 2011, upgrade 14 outlets and hire more workers. At the end of 2010, it had 8,366 staff.
