L'Oreal sales rise despite China blemish

PARIS, France — French beauty products giant L'Oreal said Wednesday it managed double-digit first quarter sales growth despite a dip in China at the beginning of the year.

The company said sales rose by both volume and value, jumping 14.6 percent from the same period last year to 10.38 billion euros ($11.38 billion).

The sales performance beat the analyst consensus forecast of 9.8 billion euros established by Bloomberg.

"This performance, which has yet to benefit from China's reopening, demonstrates the strength of L’Oreal’s balanced multipolar model," said chief executive Nicolas Hieronimus.

China began to abandon its strict zero-Covid policy that saw huge swathes of the country under lockdown at the end of last year but a wave of infections hindered a quick rebound in commerce.

North Asia sales rose only 1.1 percent due to a drop "in continental China at the very beginning of the year as a result of the evolution of the health situation" the company said. 

"From February, Chinese consumer demand for beauty resumed," it added.

Sales grew by 16.6 percent in Europe, L'Oreal's biggest region, with gains lead by cosmetics, perfumes and skin treatments.

By sector, sales of dermatological products soared 34.6 percent. The consumer products division, which includes its Garnier, Maybelline and L'Oreal brands, posted a 15.7 percent increase.

Sales in the luxury division, which includes the Lancome and Biotherm brands as well as beauty products for fashion labels Giorgio Armani and Yves Saint Laurent, rose by 7.7 percent.

"Mindful of the current uncertainties, we remain optimistic about the outlook for the beauty market, ambitious for the future and confident in our ability to keep outperforming the market and achieve another year of growth in sales and profits in 2023," added Hieronimus.