Leading luxury products group LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton reported a 15% growth in revenue for the first half of 2019 (H1 2019) with its revenue for the period amounting to € 25.1 billion, up from € 21.75 billion notched in H1 2018. The group’s organic sales growth for H1 2019 was 12% compared to the same period in 2018. This performance was “in line with the trends of the beginning of the year”, the LVMH said.

“The United States, Asia and Europe saw good growth with, in particular, a rebound in France in the second quarter,” LVMH remarked.

Profit from recurring operations touched almost € 5.3 billion for the first half of 2019, marking an increase of 14%. Operating margin reached 21.1%, also broadly in-line with the first half of 2018. Group share of net profit amounted to almost € 3.3 billion, showing a growth of 9%.

The group noted the particularly good growth of Bvlgari when reporting the performance of its Watches & Jewelry business, which recorded organic revenue growth of 4%, driven by jewellery. The division’s revenue for H1 2019 stood at € 2.13 billion as compared to € 1.978 billion reported for the same period of the last year. Profit of the division from recurring operations of € 357 million versus a € 342 million of H1 2018 was up by 5%.

“Bvlgari made good progress in its stores and continued to gain market share,” LVMH said. “The iconic lines Serpenti, B.Zero1, Diva and Fiorever contributed to this performance. Its new high-end jewellery collection, Cinemagia, presented in June in Capri, was very well received. At Chaumet, the success of its Bee My Love collection and its iconic Liens and Josephine lines were the main growth drivers of the Maison.”

LVMH also reported strong to exceptional growth for all its other divisions, including Wines & Spirits, Fashion & Leather Goods, Perfumes & Cosmetics, and Selective Retailing.

Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of LVMH, said: "LVMH has made an excellent start to the year. These results once again illustrate the effectiveness of our strategy and the exceptional desirability of our Maisons, whose products transcend time. Their constant demand for quality and their consistently refreshed creativity are key to LVMH's success, always guided by a long-term vision, combining exemplarity and responsibility in all the company's actions.”

He added: “Despite buoyant demand, we will continue to manage costs and remain vigilant into the second half of the year. We are therefore entering the second half of the year with confidence and count on the talent of our teams and their shared entrepreneurial passion to further increase, once again in 2019, our leadership in the world of high-quality products."

LVMH announced an operating free cash flow of €1.7 billion at the end of the period and a net debt to equity ratio of 24.5% as at the end of June 2019.

The group announced an interim dividend of € 2.20 which will be paid on December 10, 2019.