San Francisco Frontiers - Luxury giant LVMH enjoys 'excellent' first half

Sales at the group whose brands include Louis Vuitton, Dior and Tiffany, rose 15 percent during the January-June period compared with last year, to hit 42.2 billion euros.

LVMH's leading business group of fashion and leather goods alone saw 17 percent revenue growth to 21.2 billion euros.

All business lines saw rising sales except wines and spirits, which dipped four percent.

"LVMH achieved outstanding results during a six-month period of ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainty," chief executive Bernard Arnault said in a statement.

Arnault said the group was confident and optimistic about the second half of this year.

Selective retailing, which includes Sephora perfume shops, saw revenue jump by a quarter to 8.4 billion euros.

It also includes the DFS duty free shops, which returned to profitability.

"DFS benefited from the gradual recovery in international travel and, in particular, from the return of tourists to the flagship destinations of Hong Kong and Macau," the company said.

Geographically, "last year we had a slowdown in China and the United States helped us. This year it is a bit the opposite," LVMH's chief financial officer Jean-Jacques Guiony told journalists.

Sales in Asia jumped 23 percent in the first half of the year, compared to just three percent growth in the United States, where they actually dipped by one percent in April through June.

"We saw a certain slowdown in the United States notably with the 'aspirational' clientele, that is to say in secondary cities, entry-level products, what we sell online," said Guiony.

"It isn't a catastrophe, we're staying at the 2022 level which was very much above 2021," he added.

The Asia region excluding Japan accounts for a third of LVMH's sales.

The United States accounts for 24 percent and Europe 23 percent.

I.Wright--SFF