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FB Results Round Up: ArcelorMittal, LVMH, Akka Technologies, Nintendo

By Nicholas Moody

ArcelorMittal, LVMH, Akka Technologies, and Nintendo have all reported rising revenues highlighting the strong financial performance of some of the world's billion dollar family businesses in 2017.

World's largest steelmaker posts 21% revenue spike

Family-owned steel and mining company ArcelorMittal has seen revenues soar 21% to $68.7 billion in the 12 months to 31 December amid a positive outlook for the global steel market.

Chairman and chief executive Lakshmi Mittal (pictured left), whose family owns a 38% share in the business, said: “The market environment remains supportive but the industry must continue to address the twin challenges of overcapacity and unfair trade.”

ArcelorMittal is the successor to Mittal Steel, a business set up in 1976 by Lakshmi Mittal. It was created through the merger of Arcelor and Mittal Steel in 2006.

Mittal's daughter, Vanisha Mittal Bhatia, has been on the company's board of directors since 2004 and his son Aditya is chief financial officer and chief executive (Europe) at ArcelorMittal.


Luxury leader LVMH nets record results

Double-digit organic growth across most of its divisions helped the world's leading luxury group LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) report a 13% revenue rise in 2017 to €42.6 billion ($53.2 billion).

A jump in sales at its iconic brands including Christian Dior, Fendi, and Loewe helped its fashion and leather division post revenue rises of 21%.

Most of the growth (12%) came through organic growth, with Christian Dior Couture reporting strong performances, according to Paris-based LVMH.

The French luxury giant, which is owned by the Arnault family, said it was well-equipped to continue its growth momentum across all business groups in 2018, despite unfavorable currencies and geopolitical uncertainties.


French consultant Akka Technologies ramps up hiring

A big boost in hiring has spurred French engineering and technology consultancy AKKA Technologies revenues to rise to €1.3 billion—a 19% increase on 2016 and the fourth year it has exceeded its revenue targets.

The group that produce technologies from driver-assistance systems in cars to a “cockpit of the future” had 15,515 employees on 31 December 2017, compared to 13,252 at the end of 2016.

Its 2017 success was helped by the acquisition of three companies. It added Edelway and CTP to the group's life science business and Gigatronik to the digital technologies part of the business.

Akka Technologies has previously been dubbed a “dividend darling”, as its revenues have more than tripled over the last decade.

Maurice Ricci laid the foundations of the business 30 years ago, soon bringing on board his brother Jean-Franck and later, other family members as directors.


Switch popularity powers up Nintendo to double revenues in 2018

Sixth generation Japanese gamemaker Nintendo has reported its most profitable quarter in almost a decade driven by the global demand for its Switch console.

It comes as Nintendo Switch has become the fastest-selling gaming console in US history, beating its own record.

The electronics giant has raised its operating profit forecast for the year to the end of March by a third from JPY120 billion to JPY160 billion ($1.1 billion to $1.5 billion).

It forecasts 2018 revenues could top JPY1 trillion, double that of its 2017 total.

Nintendo launched the Nintendo Switch as a powerful gaming device that transforms into a home console, and a piece of hardware that seeks to modernise the many traditions laid out by its former family leader, Hiroshi Yamauchi.

Fusajiro Yamauchi founded Nintendo in 1889, which reported annual revenues of $4.46 billion in the 12 months to 31 March 2017.

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