Paris (Reuters) – The French luxury giant LVMH exceeded expectations on Tuesday with an increase of 1% of its sales in the fourth quarter, the demand for luxury products that have resumed during the holiday season, which therefore fuels hopes for the sector.

Owner of numerous brands, including the manufacturer of handbags Louis Vuitton and Cognac Hennessy, LVMH reported organic growth of its sales over three months at the end of December from 1% to 23.93 billion euros.

Its main division, that of fashion and leather goods, almost equaled its sales of the previous year, while its divisions devoted to distribution and watchmaking-jealberry have seen their sales grow by 7% and 3% respectively.

The group therefore delivers better than expected results. A consensus visible Alpha cited by Morgan Stanley anticipated a drop in total sales of 1.6%.

The group’s financial director, Jean-Jacques Guiony, told journalists on Tuesday that LVMH noted “a slight tendency to improve in the United States and Europe at the end of the year”, fashion and leather goods that have contributed more to growth that at the start of the year.

The group’s fashion division, which includes Louis Vuitton and Dior, announced sales down 1% to 11.139 billion euros, a lower decrease than that of 3.3% provided by the Visible Alpha consensus. This division represents almost half of the turnover of LVMH.

The outperformance of LVMH, champion of industry and first European market capitalization, is an additional encouragement for investors looking for signs of leaving the crisis.

According to Bain & Company consulting firm, global sales in the luxury sector fell by 2% last year, weighed down by the gloom of the Chinese economy.

(Report by Mimosa Spencer and Dominique Patton, Florence Lève, edited by Kate Entringer)

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