French luxury goods group LVMH posted a three percent drop in comparable sales for the fourth quarter, in line with forecasts, as a boom in revenues at its big fashion brands like Louis Vuitton offset weak performance at its duty-free shops.

LVMH said fourth-quarter sales came in at 14.3 billion euros overall. For 2020 as a whole, when earnings were hit by the coronavirus pandemic that forced retailers to close shops, revenues reached 44.65 billion euros, falling 16 percent from a year earlier on a like-for-like basis, which strips out acquisitions and currency effects.

By Sarah White and Silvia Aloisi