PARIS – Luxury buoyed PPR in the third quarter as the French retail and luxury firm on Thursday reported revenue grew 5.8 percent in the three months through September 30, in line with most analysts’ expectations.
Sales at the Gucci Group luxury division climbed 15.6 percent to 906.6 million euros, while revenue at the retail division, which includes the Conforama furniture chain and the Fnac book and music seller, advanced 3.4 percent to 3.357 billion euros. Gucci sales increased 12.2 percent to 515.3 million euros.
Though slower than the 21 percent growth logged by the Italian brand in the first half, HSBC luxury analyst Antoine Belge said they “still rated as a strong performance.”
YSL sales improved 16.5 percent to 53 million euros, underscoring the continued turnaround at the money-losing house.
YSL Beaute grew 4.9 percent to 157.2 million euros, while rising star Bottega Veneta rocketed 52.9 percent to 69.2 million euros. Sales of the group’s “other” brands, which include Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Stella McCartney and Boucheron, rose 32.7 percent to 111.9 million euros.
PPR’s retail division, which has been beset by a tough market in France and Europe, was less stellar. Fnac grew 5.8 percent to 989.7 million euros, while the Conforama chain improved 5.8 percent to 871.7 million euros and the CFAO African trading company gained 7.9 percent to 548.4 million euros.
Sales at the catalog business Redcats declined 3.2 percent to 947.7 million euros, victim of a slow mail order market. PPR’s stock was down 1.9 percent to 118.80 euros in mid afternoon trading onthe Paris Bourse.