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PARIS, France — Louis Vuitton owner LVMH posted slightly slower-than-expected sales growth in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, at a time when luxury goods companies are grappling with growing concerns over how demand in China will hold up this year.
The company, which posted record revenues and profits for the whole of 2019, said sales rose 12 percent to €15.27 billion ($16.94 billion) in the October to December period.
That marked an increase of 8 percent increase on a like-for-like basis, which strips out currency swings and acquisitions, and compared with forecasts cited by analysts and Reuters estimates of closer to 9 percent growth. Like-for-like sales had grown 11 percent in the previous three months.
LVMH said in its statement that fourth quarter sales would have expanded at a faster pace without one-off effects, including a shopping spurt in Japan ahead of a sales tax hike which had led clients to pre-empt purchases in the third quarter.
By Sarah White and Silvia Aloisi; editor: Matthieu Protard.
