FRANCE. Lagardère Travel Retail today posted full-year results with revenue climbing by +5.5% year-on-year to €6,133 million. Like-for-like sales rose by +4.4%.
Revenue grew by +6.5% excluding North Asia (undergoing restructuring), the only region down compared to 2024. The difference between reported and like-for-like revenue was attributed to the consolidation of the joint-venture duty-free business at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol from May 2025. A €64 million negative currency effect was mainly due to the depreciation of the US Dollar.
In France, revenue rose by +3% year-on-year, buoyed by growth in passenger traffic, concession gains and duty-free sales growth, plus network upgrades in the travel essentials and dining businesses.
The EMEA region (excluding France) advanced by +7%, with solid growth in the UK, Spain, Poland and Italy, thanks to growth in passenger traffic and network expansion. The region also benefited from the restart of duty-free operations in Albania. Like-for-like growth data excludes the contribution of the new duty-free business at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.
Business in Africa climbed by +25% aided by recent openings in Benin, Cameroon and Rwanda.
In the Americas, revenue rose by +3% compared to 2024. In North America (up +2%), business was driven by network expansion and sales momentum for travel essentials and dining, despite flat airport passenger traffic and the “tense economic environment”.
South America posted revenue growth of +28% driven by the recovery of tourist traffic and the opening of the new Lima Airport Terminal 2 on 1 June.
The Asia-Pacific region posted a sharp decline of +13%, and was hit hard by North Asia (down -39%) due to the continued streamlining of the business and store closures in Mainland China. Business in the region has benefited from the start-up of duty-free activities under a new contract at Auckland Airport since 1 July 2025.
In Q4 2025, Lagardère Travel Retail revenue hit €1,551 million, up +5.6% on a reported basis and up +4.5% like for like, driven by all regions except North Asia.
Recurring EBIT for the travel retail division reached €334 million the full year, a +9.5% increase year-on-year. The recurring EBIT margin came out at 5.5% versus 5.3% one year earlier, reflecting “a solid business performance, rigorous cost discipline and the effects of business streamlining in North Asia”, said the company.
Recurring EBIT for 2024 also included residual one-off government support measures in the USA in connection with the Covid health crisis.
Lagardère Group in 2025 (including its publishing arm) posted revenue of €9.4 billion, a rise of +4.6% as reported (+3.8%-like-for-like), with profit of €203 million, up +21% over 2024.
Jean-Christophe Thiery, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of majority (66.29%) owner Louis Hachette Group, commented: “One year after its creation, our group has posted strong revenue growth, driven by operational excellence across all our businesses, our strong international presence and the commitment of our teams.
“Together, these results underscore the relevance of Louis Hachette Group’s strategic model and strengthen our resolve to pursue our demanding and value-creating capital allocation policy, underpinned by the robust performance and complementary nature of our businesses. We will also maintain regular shareholder returns and make targeted investments while pursuing strict financial discipline.”
In an investor call this evening, Lagardère Travel Retail CEO Frédéric Chevalier responded to a question about the outlook for 2026, saying, “We see a continuous, slight increase on the traffic side, and we hope this will continue over the next ten months.
“We will benefit from the Amsterdam Schiphol integration which began on 1 May 2025. We also continue with the restructuring of the China business, which will continue at the same speed and will be mostly complete by the end of this year.”
On China, Chevalier explained that the market was “atypical” compared to other territories, with 90% of the company’s business from fashion & accessories at domestic airports.
“Despite all our efforts we don’t see a clear turnaround of market trends. We are more than half way through the number of store closures. We are still in red this year but next year we should be in the area of zero-zero in terms of the bottom line.”
He set this in the context of a “challenging macro-economic environment”, saying the company maintains a close eye on the evolution of the value of the US Dollar.
Asked about margin rates in travel retail, Chevalier said there was room for further slight improvement in profitability in light of restructuring and expected reduced losses in China plus other business efficiency efforts across the world.
On how this year has begun, Chevalier added, “January continued the trend from the final quarter of last year, with mid single-digit sales growth, despite the impact of adverse weather on traffic in some parts of Europe and North America. Q1 overall should be equal or slightly better compared to the month of January.” ✈
