Lvmh, record revenues at 86 billion: weathering the luxury slowdown

Revenues and profitability up for Lvmh in 2023. The French luxury giant posted revenue growth of 9 per cent over 2022 to EUR 86.153 billion (+13 per cent organic growth), updating the all-time record. The result, reads the financial document published yesterday, was affected by exchange rates of 4 percentage points due to the weakness of the Chinese renminbi, the Japanese yen and the US dollar against the euro.

An analysis of the performance of the individual quarters reveals a slowdown in growth, which in the first half of the year was 15%, while from July to December it was 3%. During the meeting with analysts for the presentation of the figures Bernard Arnault, president and CEO of the group, responded to a question on the trend of the brands by saying: "A growth between 8-10% is perfect. I am very happy with the slowdown,' meaning that a normalisation was necessary for the sustainability of growth in the medium and long term.

In terms of profitability, the French group ended last year with profit from recurring activities rising to EUR 22.802bn from EUR 21.055bn in 2022, despite the negative foreign exchange impact of EUR 672m, while the operating margin stood at 26.5% from 26.6% in the previous year. The group's share of net profit was EUR 15.174bn, up 8% from 2022, or 18% of revenue, a stable share compared to the previous year. At the shareholders' meeting on 18 April, the board will propose the distribution of a coupon of €13 per share (€12 for 2022), of which €5.5 was already paid last December and €7.50 will be paid on 25 April.

For the current year, Arnault emphasises: "While remaining vigilant in the current context, we enter 2024 with confidence, thanks to the high level of interest in our brands and our flexible teams. It promises to be an exceptional and challenging year for all of us, marked by our partnership with the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, whose core values of passion, inclusion and overcoming oneself are shared by our group."

The conference call with analysts was also an opportunity to take stock of sales in the various geographies: last year, continental Asia, which accounts for 31% of the group's revenues, saw an increase in sales of 18%, Japan (which accounts for 7% of the total) grew by 28%, and Europe (which accounts for 25%) posted +13%. The United States, which saw its weight drop from 27% to 25% of the group's receipts in 2023, was the only region with a single-digit increase (+4%).