Key facts
- L'Oreal's quarterly sales reached €11.6 billion ($13.21 billion).
- Like-for-like sales grew 6.3%, surpassing analyst expectations of 5.7%.
- The mass-market products division saw stronger-than-expected growth.
- Europe, L'Oreal's largest region, experienced a 6.7% sales increase.
- The Luxe division, a third of sales, grew 4.7%, with China showing double-digit growth but hampered by travel retail issues.
L'Oreal, the world's largest cosmetics company, reported better-than-expected quarterly sales of €11.6 billion ($13.21 billion) for the three months ending June. This represents a 6.3% increase on a like-for-like basis, surpassing the 5.7% growth anticipated by analysts. The company's performance was bolstered by robust demand for new hair products and mascaras, alongside a significant outperformance in online sales, particularly within its mass-market division.
Europe, L'Oreal's largest market, saw sales rise by 6.7%, with the company attributing some of this growth to the 'lipstick effect'—consumers purchasing beauty products to enhance their mood during stressful economic times. North America, the second-largest region, experienced a 5.9% sales increase.
However, L'Oreal's Luxe division, which accounts for one-third of its sales, lagged forecasts with 4.7% growth. This was partly due to ongoing challenges in China's travel retail sector, despite double-digit growth in the Chinese market itself. In comparison, beauty peer Unilever reported an 8% underlying sales growth in its beauty and wellbeing unit for the same quarter.
L'Oreal shares have risen 4% year to date.