LVMH 
At 10:25 a.m., the share gained 0.52% to 805.8 euros, after losing up to 2.2% in early trading, while the CAC 40 was virtually unchanged at the same time (+0.07%).
LVMH's organic sales growth of 9% in the fourth quarter exceeded expectations, but margins were disappointing and activity in China at the end of the year was weaker than anticipated.
"The group delivered a stable operating margin compared with 2021 (against a consensus of +90 basis points), largely reflecting the maintenance or increase in marketing expenditure in the second half despite disrupted revenue growth," commented Credit Suisse analysts.
LVMH CFO Jean Jacques Guiony said on Thursday that he had decided to maintain marketing investments in the second half, at a level 30% higher than in 2021, despite weaker sales growth, but that he had not anticipated such a sharp drop in activity in China in December.
He added that the parallel distribution channel strategy for the Perfumes & Cosmetics division was "a costly decision" that impacted profitability, but that it was "the right decision" that will ensure the attractiveness of its brands.
"Such marketing progress, particularly for brands of this size and with this current momentum, in our view raises a question mark for the sector as a whole in terms of the scale of investment consistently required to sustain brand momentum and to consistently enthuse and engage increasingly demanding consumers," said JPMorgan analysts.
For their part, analysts at Jefferies noted in a note the management's confident outlook for 2023, "particularly if the trend in China observed since the beginning of the year continues (and we believe it will)".
"The fourth quarter is less revealing than one might think: we expect to outperform the sector from now on", they say.
(Mimosa Spencer and Sudip Kar-Gupta)
