LVMH Trades Higher After 3Q Sales; Kering, Hermes Shares Also Up

By Joshua Kirby

Shares in LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE traded higher Friday morning and other luxury-goods stocks were also up after the French conglomerate on Thursday reported third-quarter sales that beat analyst expectations and showed positive growth in some areas.

LVMH, the world's largest luxury-goods company by value, on Thursday said quarterly sales stood at 11.96 billion euros ($14.05 billion), down 7% organically from the same period the previous year, but that the core fashion and leather goods division saw positive organic growth of 12%. Cognac sales also grew compared with the third quarter of 2019, the company said.

Analysts had expected sales of EUR11.37 billion, according to a consensus estimate provided by FactSet and based on four analyst estimates.

Shares in LVMH at 0744 GMT traded 6.8% higher at EUR430.35. Shares in sector peer Kering were up 3.7% at EUR587.50, while Hermes International SCA traded 4% higher at EUR802.60.

The results confirm LVMH's soft-luxury division as the benchmark for the sector, which is particularly relevant to Kering, say analysts at bank Jefferies. Overall LVMH's sales update should encourage a more positive view of the luxury-goods sector, which seems to have seen strong sales over the summer following the worst impacts of the coronavirus earlier in the year, according to brokerage Bernstein.

Write to Joshua Kirby at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 16, 2020 04:14 ET (08:14 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.