Paris, France: French luxury group LVMH cautioned it might not sustain the powerful first-quarter growth that sent its shares close to a 10-year high this week.

LVMH on Tuesday April 13 posted a 13-percent rise in like-for-like sales in the first three months, twice what investors expected, as retailers stepped up orders for watches, wines and spirits - sectors badly hit by the downturn.

"We might not have during the year the more-than-20 percent, even 30 percent sales growth we saw (at some divisions) in the first quarter," LVMH Chief Executive Bernard Arnault said at the group's annual general meeting on Thursday April 15.

"We can hope for it but I think we really have to be prudent."

Separately, Bernardette Chirac, the former French first lady, received the backing of LVMH shareholders to join the group's supervisory board.

Chirac was invited to join the board after Helene Carrere d'Encausse, the French historian and academic, declined to join for "personal reasons."