LVMH rallies on Asian sales

LVMH, the world's biggest luxury group, posted a Y 2010 profit from recurring operations of €4.32bn ($5.95bn) on revenue of €20.3bn, and raised its dividend 27% on the back of a record year.

The group's wines and spirits unit, which includes champagne-maker Mo?t & Chandon, bounced back from the severe slump of Y 2009. Wines and spirits generated revenue growth of 19% in Y 2010 and lifted their profit from recurring operations 22%, as all champagne brands, particularly prestige cuvées, experienced a recovery.

Global luxury sales climbed 10% after falling 8% in Y 2009. LVMH made a full-year net profit of €3.03B, which included a gain from its acquisition of Hermes shares.

LVMH, whose Louis Vuitton brand accounts for half of group operating profit, benefited from Chinese shoppers' growing appetite for luxury goods at home and abroad as well as from a steady rise in discretionary spending globally.