Hermès First-half Operating Income Jumps 50.5% Versus 2019

PARIS — A sharp sales uptick, especially gains in Greater China and a rebound in the Americas, drove first-half operating income up 221 percent to 1.72 billion euros for Hermès International. Compared with the same period in 2019, that represents a 50.5 percent increase.

The French luxury goods firm reported that its net income came in at 1.17 billion euros, up 250.4 percent year-over-year, or 55.7 percent based on 2019 numbers for the same period.

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First-half sales jumped 70.2 percent year-over-year to 4.24 billion euros in total, representing a 28.9 percent gain on the first six months of 2019. For the second quarter, revenues grew 119 percent to 2.15 billion euros.

“The results for the first half of the year have been exceptional in nature,” stated Hermès executive chairman Axel Dumas. “But this performance also reflects the momentum and resilience of our model, which puts people, the source of creativity and innovation, as well as the requirement for absolute quality, at its core.”

With revenues up 98 percent to 1.03 billion euros on a constant currency basis in the first half (or 40 percent compared with 2019), the ready-to-wear and accessories division performed particularly well, as did the “other” Hermès sectors division — comprising jewelry and homeware — with constant currency sales up 100.4 percent, and watches, up 120.6 percent on the prior-year period.

Sales of leather goods and saddlery, Hermès’ largest division, gained 63 percent year-over-year at constant currency, to 2 billion euros. This was a 25 percent increase compared with the same period in 2019.

While in Europe, comparables were still negative on 2019 — declining 8.4 percent — in the rest of the world, sales levels bypassed pre-pandemic levels. At constant currency, revenues in Asia grew 80.5 percent based on 2020 numbers and 58.5 percent compared with 2019, to 2.62 billion euros. Sales in the Americas grew 115.1 percent, or 25.3 percent on 2019.

Sales in the group’s own store network, which it has continued to expand and renovate, grew 81 percent year-over-year at constant exchange. Wholesale activities were up 46 percent on the same period last year, Hermès said, remaining penalized by travel retail.

Earlier this week, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton reported net profit up 62 percent versus the first half of 2019 and a like-for-like sales gain of 14 percent for the second quarter. Kering’s first-half net profit was up 159.5 percent year-over-year and its revenues jumped 91.1 percent for the three months to June 30.

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