The Asia Pacific region continued to benefit from the launch of the new Hong Kong Airport concession.

Lagardère Travel Retail has reported Q1 revenue growth of +11% (on a like for like basis) to €802m ($947m) from €763m ($901m) during the same period last year.

The Q1 revenue growth was underpinned mainly by a good sales performance and network expansion in the ASPAC and EMEA regions.

Group revenue totalled €1.56bn ($1.84bn) in the quarter versus €1,53bn ($1.8bn) in Q1 2017, representing a 5% like-for-like rise and 1.5% increase on a consolidated basis.

According to Lagardère Group, this was driven by organic growth momentum at Lagardère Travel Retail and a good performance from the Lagardère Publishing division.

POSITIVE MOMENTUM

For Lagardère Travel Retail, business in France during Q1 reported positive momentum (+2.1%). This was despite the negative impact of foreign exchange rates on spending by international passengers in the duty free segment.

Growth was led mainly by the regional platforms, boosted by the modernisation of stores, particularly at Nice airport and by good performance from Foodservice activities.

The EMEA region (excluding France) posted further solid growth (+15.6%), thanks notably to the impact of new stores opened in Geneva (Switzerland), Gdansk (Poland) and Dakar (Senegal) and good sales performance in Eastern Europe.

Lagardère Travel Retail Q1 revenue grew 11% (on a like for like basis) to €802m.

North America reported further growth (+1.7%) driven by strong momentum in Travel Essentials and Foodservice despite a negative network impact.

The Asia Pacific region delivered robust growth (+34.4%). The region continued to benefit from the launch of the new Hong Kong concession and from positive performances at fashion stores in China.

The Pacific region was buoyed by duty free growth in New Zealand.