As its share price surged, and the euro strengthened, French luxury goods brand LVMH saw its market value blow past the $500 million mark, making it the first European company to do so.

The luxury group, that is controlled by billionaire Bernard Arnault, and is home to names such as Louis Vuitton, Moët & Chandon and Hennessy, as well as brands including Givenchy, Christian Dior, Bulgari and Sephora,  more than doubled the expectations of analysts as it reported a 17% rise in revenues for its first quarter results earlier in the month. Shares of the company soared following the report.

The Paris-listed company saw its share price climb 0.3% to €903.70 ($996.19) Monday morning, which gave the firm a share price of €454 billion ($500.5 billion).

Revenue for LVMH came in at €79.2 billion ($87 billion) for 2022, as profit from recurring operations reached €21.1 billion ($23 billion). This was the second consecutive year of record performance.

The results show that despite spiraling EU inflation and a surge of interest rates which many analysts worry will drive the entire global economy into recession, demand for luxury goods like Louis Vuitton handbags and Christian Dior gowns remains strong.

The company has also benefitted from the reopening of China following the lifting of its zero-Covid policies, as booming demand in the freshly reopened market has driven strong performance across the luxury products industry.

Meanwhile Bernard Arnault, the world’s richest man, has seen his wealth driven to a new peak as his company has seen its value surge. Presently the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index pegs his fortune at nearly $212 billion.