PARIS, France — LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA fell to the lowest price in four months in Paris after reporting the slowest fashion and leather goods sales growth in more than three years as demand for Louis Vuitton handbags softened.

Fashion and leather goods revenue rose 3 percent in the three months through March, excluding currency swings and acquisitions, the Paris-based company said yesterday, the weakest quarterly rate since the fourth quarter of 2009. Analysts predicted 5 percent growth, the same pace as the previous two quarters.

The slowdown at the unit, the most profitable of five divisions, “will have a negative impact on LVMH’s margin mix,” Eva Quiroga, an analyst at UBS AG, said today in a note to clients. She has a neutral recommendation on the shares.

LVMH fell as much as 2.9 percent to 127.50 euros, the lowest price since Nov. 20. The shares traded at 127.60 euros as of 9:01 a.m. local time.

The luxury-goods maker is including more leather and adding products with fewer logos at Vuitton as it seeks to make its biggest brand more desirable amid concern consumers are tiring of its monogrammed laminated canvas bags. The company is also opening fewer stores. Vuitton won't seek revenue growth at all costs, Chief Executive Officer Bernard Arnault said in January.

Italian rival Prada SpA this month reported an uneven start to the year, saying cold weather, the economic crisis in Europe and threats of nuclear strikes by North Korea had hurt demand.

Uncertain Europe

“In an economic environment which remains uncertain in Europe, LVMH will continue to focus its efforts on developing its brands,” the world’s largest luxury goods company said in the statement. LVMH will also “maintain a strict control over costs and will target its investments on the quality, the excellence and the innovation of its products and their distribution,” it said.

Total LVMH first-quarter sales climbed 6 percent to 6.95 billion euros ($9.1 billion), matching the average of 13 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales rose 7 percent excluding exchange-rate fluctuations and acquisitions, compared with 14 percent in the first quarter of last year and 8 percent in the final three months of 2012.

A 17 percent organic gain at the selective retailing unit, which includes beauty retailer Sephora and DFS duty-free stores, helped offset a softer-than-hoped-for performance in all other divisions. Analysts predicted a 12 percent rise at the unit.

“Selective retailing has saved the day,” said Quiroga.

First-quarter sales of wines and spirits rose 7 percent on an organic basis as “robust” demand for champagne in Asia made up for a “softer” performance in Europe, LVMH said.

Perfume and cosmetics sales gained 5 percent excluding currency moves and acquisitions, while revenue from watches and jewelry increased 2 percent, LVMH said.

By: Andrew Roberts; Editors: Thomas Mulier, Tim Farrand