PARIS, Oct 16 — French luxury goods giant LVMH said yesterday that a sales rebound in fashion and leather goods had lifted third quarter sales to limit fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.

LVMH noted a "significant improvement” as fashion and leather limited a fall in revenue to 7 per cent on an organic basis after the virus had wreaked havoc in the first half of the year.

Sales came in at almost €12 billion (RM58 billion) for the quarter, above expectations of between €11.7 and €11.4 billion.

"Since the start of the year, LVMH has demonstrated good resilience in an economic environment severely disrupted by the serious health crisis that led to the suspension of international travel and the closure of the Group’s stores and manufacturing sites in most countries over a period of several months,” the company said in a statement.

"The encouraging signs of recovery observed in June for several of the Group’s activities were confirmed in the third quarter in all regions, notably in the United States, and in Asia, which once again grew over the period.”

Fashion and leather sales rose 12 per cent on the third quarter of 2019, in marked contrast to perfumes, watches and jewellery and selective retailing, which all recorded falls.

The world’s leading luxury products group said it recorded revenue of €30.3 billion for January-September, down 21 per cent. — AFP