PPR Reports Slight Gain in Q1

Retail-to-luxury group PPR said first-quarter revenues inched up 1.2%, thanks namely to the resilient performance of its luxury division Gucci Group.

Sales for the three months ended March 31 totaled $5.7 billion up from$5.3 billion, in the same period a year earlier. Dollar figures are converted from average exchange rates for the period.

“The sharp improvement in sales of all of our businesses in the first quarter provides us with a solid platform to speed up revenue growth throughout the year,” PPR chairman and chief executive officer François-Henri Pinault stated. “We should deliver a healthy progression in operating and financial performances in 2010.”

The Gucci Group division ­ which groups high-end brands including Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Yves Saint Laurent ­ garnered revenues of $1.2 billion, up 4.7% from a year ago.