LVMH: Q1 revenue grew 25%
French luxury goods group LVMH has said that its first-quarter revenue grew 25% thanks to strong growth in Asia and the US. However, the company described the economic outlook for Europe as uncertain and said it would keep a tight control over costs.
Quarterly sales rose 14% on a like-for-like basis to EUR6.58 billion.
The fashion and leathergoods division, which accounts for around a third of the company’s revenue and grew 12% on an organic basis for the quarter, came in slightly below some analysts expectations. LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault said at the annual shareholders’ meeting in early April that first-quarter growth was above what it had been in the last quarter of 2011.
While this was true, the growth did not come primarily from fashion and leather as some expected, indicating the Louis Vuitton brand, which accounted for half of group operating profit in 2011, had not performed to the levels of 2011.
