- Three-month sales soar 36% to EUR1.51bn (US$1.8bn)
- Compared to Q1 in 2019, sales in three months to end of January climb 17%
- Cognac supply issues reported in US
Moet Hennessy has set the pace for its peers with a sizeable leap in sales from the first three months of 2021.
The wine & spirits division of luxury-goods group LVMH said late yesterday that its Q1 top-line was up 36% on the corresponding period last year. By way of a fairer guide to performance, the unit, which is 34%-owned by Diageo, said three-month sales versus 2019 were up 17%.
Leading the charge was flagship Cognac brand Hennessy, up 28% in volume terms, thanks predominantly to a “strong rebound” in China. The company warned, however, that the healthy showing for Hennessy in the US off-premise in the quarter risks putting pressure on its supply of Cognac.
Also of note was Moet Hennessy’s Champagne business, which delivered a 22% volumes increase. While on-premise closures hindered sales, “improved trends” were reported for Champagne in the US and Europe thanks to customer restocking efforts.
Elsewhere, single malt Scotch whisky Glenmorangie earned a namecheck thanks to a “robust” showing in Europe.
This week’s first-quarter numbers follow a year in which sales came in 14% down on 2019.
To view LVMH’s official results statement, click here.
Moet Hennessy Performance Trends 2016-2020 – results data
