No sign of a slump in consumption: the luxury goods group LVMH had a record year in 2022.

Sales and profit increased by double digits.

The company announced the previous evening in Paris that demand in Europe, the USA and Japan in particular had increased significantly.

LVMH is benefiting from the fact that the travel business is returning to normal.

Among the group's many brands, Louis Vuitton stood out.

Analysts were not entirely satisfied with the group's operating profit.

The LVMH share, which is listed in the Eurozone's leading index Euro Stoxx 50, still gained 0.6 percent on Friday morning in Paris to EUR 806.70 and meanwhile marked another record high of over EUR 808.

Last year, LVMH increased sales by almost a quarter to around 79.2 billion euros.

Analysts had expected less here.

Above all, the most important segment related to fashion and leather goods increased: LVMH increased its sales by a fifth with brands such as Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Rimowa.

All other parts of the company also achieved a double-digit percentage increase in sales.

The figures show the attraction that the Louis Vuitton brand in particular exerts on customers.

With more than 20 billion euros - according to the company for the first time - it accounts for a quarter of the group's revenue.

In the fashion and leather goods segment, Louis Vuitton accounts for more than half of sales.

The remaining approximately 18 billion euros are contributed by the many other brands such as Loewe, Fendi, Christian Dior, Kenzo and Givenchy.

The retail segment (Selective Retailing), in which LVMH includes its perfumery chain Sephora and the duty-free shops of the DFS Group, also grew strongly.

The latter are concentrated in Asia and the Pacific region.

After international air traffic has returned to normal, more people are traveling again and going on a shopping spree just before departure.

The operating profit of the division developed surprisingly well: At 788 million euros, the result was almost one and a half times as high as in the previous year.

The management is convinced that things would have gone even better without the strict corona measures in China: the lack of tourism was particularly noticeable in the shops in Hong Kong and Macau.

Exclusivity through scarcity

LVMH's operating profit climbed by almost a quarter to around 21 billion euros in 2022.

Analysts had calculated even more here.

However, the company shouldered higher marketing and sales costs.

Perfume was the only segment to experience a drop in profits.

According to the information, this was mainly due to the fact that LVMH only wants to sell its fragrance creations in selected shops.

The company had already used this strategy after taking over the Cologne-based luggage manufacturer Rimowa: Whereas the striking aluminum suitcases were previously also available in shopping centers and normal luggage shops, they can now only be bought in a few boutiques or online from the manufacturer.

Dividend disappointed

The bottom line is that LVMH earned almost 14.1 billion euros, 17 percent more than in 2021. However, analysts had hoped for a little more in terms of both operating profit and net income.

LVMH proposes a dividend of 12 euros per note.

After the interim dividend of EUR 5 per share has already been paid, the remainder is to be paid out at the end of April.

LVMH currently has a market capitalization of around 406 billion euros on the stock exchange, making it by far the most valuable group in the euro zone.

It is followed by the chip supplier ASML with almost 248 billion euros.

The company's development ensured that LVMH co-founder and CEO Bernard Arnault is now the richest person in the world.