Wines & spirits drive LVMH growth

Luxury group Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy has recorded organic profit growth of 8% in the third quarter, helped along by strong wine & spirits sales.

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With sales standing at €20.7m in the third quarter of this year compared to €19.8m last year, LVMH is able to report a 4% rise in reported profit and 8% in organic value growth.

Of all the group’s categories, one of the best performing has been wines & spirits, which rose 7% compared to 2012 up from €2.7m to €2.8m so far, outpacing the fashion & leather goods, perfumes & cosmetics and watches & jewellery categories.

The group explained: “The wines & spirits business group recorded organic revenue growth of 7% for the first nine months of 2013. Champagne experienced a rebound in the third quarter, driven by strong demand in the Asian and American markets, and its prestige brands made strong progress over the period.

“Hennessy cognac continued its good progress with solid volume increases combined with its firm pricing policy.”

Looking ahead for the rest of the year, LVMH said it remained confident despite continuing economic uncertainty.

It stated: “the group will continue its proactive strategy centred on innovation and targeted geographic expansion in the most promising markets.

LVMH will rely on the power of its brands and the talent of its teams to further extend, in 2013, its global leadership in the luxury market.”