French luxury goods group LVMH reported a 3% drop in comparable sales for the fourth quarter, as a boom in revenues at its big fashion brands like Louis Vuitton offset a weak performance at its duty free shops.

The coronavirus pandemic has hammered retailers, which were forced to close stores during lockdowns the world over to fight the virus. Declining international travel has also deprived luxury good companies of tourist revenues.

An improving backdrop in China, however, one of the world’s biggest markets for luxury fashions and which had eased COVID-19 measures by the second half of 2020, has helped some companies to rebound.

LVMH’s fashion and leather goods business, home to Vuitton handbags and other brands like Christian Dior, performed better than expected by analysts in the fourth quarter.

“In a context that remains uncertain, even with the hope of vaccination giving us a glimpse of an end to the pandemic, we are confident that LVMH is in an excellent position to build upon the recovery,” LVMH boss Bernard Arnault said in a statement.
Overall group sales for the October to December period came in at 14.3 billion euros, in line with forecasts.

For 2020 as a whole, when earnings were hit by the coronavirus pandemic that forced retailers to close shops, revenues reached 44.65 billion euros, falling 16% from a year earlier on a like-for-like basis, which strips out acquisitions and currency effects.

LVMH’s net profit reached 4.7 billion euros ($5.71 billion), down 34% on a year earlier.