* LVMH Q3 comparable sales up 14 pct vs Reuters poll 11 pct
* Q3 sales 5.1 bln euros vs Reuters poll 4.9 bln
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PARIS, Oct 14 (Reuters) - LVMH LVMH.PA, the world's biggest luxury group, beat forecasts with a 14 percent rise in comparable third-quarter sales, driven by the solid recovery of its fashion, wines and champagne businesses.
LVMH, the first European luxury group to publish third quarter figures, on Thursday confirmed the industry’s stronger-than-expected rebound, powered in part by expansion in China and a weak euro attracting tourist shoppers.
Analysts expected like-for-like sales growth of 11 percent for the third quarter, compared with a 3 percent drop in 2009, the worst year for the luxury goods industry in more than two decades.
The group, which owns fashion brands Celine and Louis Vuitton as well as Moet & Chandon, the world’s biggest champagne maker, said sales in the three months to Sept. 30 reached 5.1 billion euros ($7.1 billion), beating a Reuters poll of 4.9 billion euros.
On a nine-month basis, revenue reached 14.2 billion euros against expectations of 13.98 billion euros, based on a Reuters poll of 10 analysts.
“The excellent performance of LVMH in the first nine months of the year has confirmed its confidence for 2010,” the group said in its statement without giving a full-year outlook. (Reporting by Astrid Wendlandt; Editing by Mike Nesbit) ($1=.7173 euros)
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