Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (EPA:MC) reported a smaller decline in sales in the past quarter than was feared by the market, lifting its shares over 11% and boosting those of its sector peers, including Burberry Group PLC (LSE:BRBY) and Watches of Switzerland Group PLC (LSE:WOSG).
The owner of Christian Dior, Givenchy, Bulgari and Tiffany owner posted third-quareter results showing revenues of €18.28 billion, which was down 4% compared to the prior year, which was 0.6% ahead of the average analyst forecast.
Sales at constant currency rates increased 1%, while the analyst consensus was for a 1% decline.
The group's Fashion & Leather Goods brands saw revenue decline 2%, an improvement on the first half of the year and ahead of expectations for a decline of 3-4%.
LVMH hailed "good resilience" and despite headwinds from the geopolitical and economic environment.
It said organic growth of 1% reflected improvements across all business groups and regions, except Europe, where revenue from tourist spending declined due to currency fluctuations. Stable demand supported performance in the US, Japan fell year-on-year due to a prior boost from a weaker yen, and the rest of Asia showed a marked recovery.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank said: "Overall this is a good enough print for LVMH despite the recently raised expectations in our view".
The LVMH’s result "suggests that the slump in the demand for luxury is starting to level off", said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
"There was also growth in sales to China, which had been hit by a slump in recent years. Analysts now expect the leather goods sector, especially Luis Vuitton and Christian Dior, could fuel growth for this sector into next year."