L’Oréal has exceeded expectations with a strong third quarter: the French cosmetics brand saw its sales grow by 11 %, the strongest growth in more than a decade.
Asia remains biggest growth driver
L’Oréal recorded an 11 % turnover increase in the third quarter, to 7.18 billion euros. It is the strongest growth in more than a decade and is more than the figure of 7.03 billion euros expected by analysts. Asia was a major driver for this growth, where luxury brands such as Lancôme are doing particularly well. In fact, the company’s luxury division achieved a turnover of 2.75 billion euros, despite the recent troubles in Hong Kong.
On a comparable basis, excluding currency effects and acquisitions, revenue increased by 7.8 %. This figure, too, is significantly better than the 6.3 % that was expected. The previous quarter’s growth was 6.8 %.
The French cosmetics group is reiterating its goal of outperforming the market this year. Last year, the beauty sector recorded global growth of 5.5 %, meaning L’Oréal is well on track.
