Cosmetics group L’Oréal posted robust sales growth over the third quarter, lifted by brisk demand in Europe and the United States, which helped offset disruptions in China due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Nicolas Hieronimus, chief executive officer of L’Oréal, said all markets progressed in the period, although lockdowns weighed heavily on the company's largest division , L’Oréal Luxe, in the key Chinese market.
L’Oréal, the group behind Maybelline mascara and Lancome skincare, posted sales of €9.58 billion, up 9.1%, like-for-like, slightly outpacing analyst expectations for 8.3% organic sales growth.
Regional Performance
Curbs on travel in China, including its popular duty-free tourist destination Hainan, dragged down the performance of the company, which posted growth overall of just 0.3%, but business sped up in September.
In the United States, sales grew 9.3% despite a slow July, with a strong return of demand during the back-to-school period.
Sales grew 10.5% in Europe, with L’Oréal flagging market share gains in key markets such as Germany, Spain and Britain.
Hieronimus added, "Despite the current uncertainties, we remain confident in the outlook for the global beauty market, which has again confirmed its resilience; confident in our power to innovate; and confident in our ability to outperform the market and achieve another year of growth in sales and profits in 2022.”
Consumer goods and luxury companies have posted strong trading updates as shoppers shrug off higher prices and continue to spend.
Estée Lauder reports first quarter earnings on 2 November.
News by Reuters, additional reporting by ESM. For more A-Brands news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
