LVMH exceeded expectations in the fourth quarter, reporting a 9% rise in sales for the period on Thursday, as consumers in Europe and the United States showed little regard for spending during the crucial holiday season, offsetting coronavirus-related disruptions in China.

The world's number one luxury goods group, which owns the Dior, Louis Vuitton, Sephora and Hennessy brands among others, posted sales of 22.7 billion euros in the last three months of the year, with a 9% increase on an organic basis slightly ahead of analysts' expectations, who were counting on 7% growth according to a consensus quoted by UBS.

However, these results mark a slowdown on the 20% growth recorded in the first nine months of the year, due to the blow dealt to the Chinese market by store closures and the abandonment of the country's zero COVID policy, which caused a wave of contamination in the world's second-largest economy.

"China was down sharply in the fourth quarter," Group CFO Jean-Jacques Guiyoni told reporters.

"The Chinese market was complicated by the health restrictions we experienced more or less throughout the year", he added, referring to difficulties in the second quarter, an upturn in the third quarter, and then a complex fourth quarter.

"The pandemic spread like wildfire", continued Jean-Jacques Guiyoni, as the easing of travel restrictions by the Chinese authorities in December caused problems in warehouses, stores and distribution networks.

LVMH does not give detailed results for its brands, but said that in 2022, its flagship Louis Vuitton brand exceeded 20 billion euros in sales for the first time, representing around a quarter of the group's total revenues for the year.

The group said January had got off to a good start and that, despite an uncertain context, it was confident of continued growth this year as well as in 2022. (Reported by Silvia Aloisi and Mimosa Spencer, Augustin Turpin, edited by Blandine Hénault)