LVMH reported an overall decline in revenues for 2020 but the final quarter showed signs of promise for the coming year.

The luxury retailer, which owns brands including Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Moët, reported sales of €44.7bn (£39.5bn) in 2020, down 17% year on year.

In the fourth quarter, revenues declined 3% on a like-for-like basis compared with the same period the previous year, with a strong performance from LVMH’s fashion and leather goods division.

Fashion and leather goods sales grew 18% to €7.3bn (£6.5bn) in the fourth quarter compared to 2019, beating expectations.

Sales for the group’s biggest brands, Louis Vuitton and Dior, reached double-digit growth in the second half of the year despite the impact of the pandemic and restrictions across most of Europe during the festive shopping season.

This recovery was mostly due to improvement in the Asian market, as well as an uptick in sales in the US and Japan.

LVMH chair and chief executive Bernard Arnault said the group showed “remarkable resilience” against the coronavirus pandemic.