Moët Hennessy up in Q4 but full-year sales end in the red - results data

Sales in final quarter of 2023 increase by 4% to EUR1.91bn (US$2.08bn)
Twelve-month sales finish down 4% at EUR6.60bn
‘Cognac & spirits’ declines 10%, ‘champagne & wines’ rises 2% in full year

Moët Hennessy has closed the year with a lift in quarterly sales, although slides earlier in 2024 pulled the group downwards for the full 12 months.

For the three months to the end of December, the Hennessy and Dom Pérignon brand owner’s top line came in up 4% on the corresponding period a year earlier. Despite the rise, however, marked declines in both the second (-8%) and third (-14%) quarters resulted in 2023 sales dipping by mid single digits.

While the company’s associated commentary focused on the year as a whole, both wings of Moët Hennessy recorded increases in the closing quarter. On the ‘cognac & spirits’ side, the three-month showing represented a strong return from the bleak performances in the two quarters prior. Parent group LVMH described 2023 as a “transitional year in the US and China” for Moët Hennessy’s spirits portfolio.

Over in ‘champagne & wines’, meanwhile, Q4 sales also bounced back from the slip – to EUR2.36bn from EUR2.4bn – recorded in the first nine months of the year.

Over the full 12 months, the two units had differing fortunes: Champagne & wine inched up by 2% in sales terms, while ‘cognac & spirits’ fell 10%. Continuing its explanation of the “transitional” period, LVMH noted “post-Covid normalisation of demand” for the Hennessy brand in the US with China proving “mixed” over the year for the cognac flagship.

Efforts remain ongoing in the US “to maintain optimal inventory levels among retailers”, the parent added.

Last year marked the first in recent years that sales from ‘champagne & wine’ overtook ‘cognac & spirits’ for Moët Hennessy. Indeed, the latter’s sales in 2023 failed to match the level reached two years earlier.