Luxury goods firm LVMH posts flat 2013 earnings
PARIS (AP) — Luxury goods purveyor LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton says profit from sales of Bulgari watches, Givenchy gowns and other high-end fashions was almost flat last year while revenue growth slowed sharply.
The fashion company headquartered on Paris' elegant Champs Elysees boulevard reported net profit of 3.44 billion euros ($4.7 billion) in 2013, up only 0.4 percent from 3.42 billion euros in 2012.
Sales growth slipped to 4 percent last year from 19 percent a year earlier, with the watches and jewelry and fashion and leather goods divisions posting lower year-on-year sales.
Chairman Bernard Arnault said in a statement Thursday the results showed "another excellent performance despite exchange rate volatility and slower growth in the European markets."
The company also warned that Europe's economic environment remains "uncertain."
