LVMH profit all but disappears in covid semester

Luxury is one of the worst hit sectors by the covid pandemic, as proven (again) by LVMH‘s half-year results. Turnover went down 27 %, net profit even 85 %.

Unimaginable blow

The conglomerate that owns Bulgari, Dior, Louis Vuitton and other luxury brands, has seen its turnover drop 27 % to 18.4 billion euros. All divisions suffered from the covid lockdowns in many countries, but the watches and jewelry division took the worst hit at – 38 %.

Profit figures, too, took a turn for the worse in the past semester: while operational profit went down 68 % to 1.67 billion euro, net profit was almost completely wiped out. Only the ‘wines and spirits’ and ‘fashion and leather goods’ divisions remained above zero.

Vigilance

CEO Bernard Arnault remains very cautious for about his company’s recovery, despite positive signs in China. “While we have observed strong signs of an upturn in activity since June, we remain very vigilant for the rest of the year”, a press release states.

“Thanks to the strength of our brands and the responsiveness of our organization, we are confident that LVMH is in an excellent position to take advantage of the recovery, which we hope will be confirmed in the second half of the year, and to strengthen our lead in the global luxury market in 2020”, Arnault concludes.