Recorded growth for L’Oréal and Coty driven by fragrances and beauty products

L'Oréal announced its 2022 results ended December 31, after the closing of the Paris Stock Market on Thursday, February 9, 2023, and Coty has released its results for the second quarter ended December 31, 2022. 

L'Oréal sales amounted to 38.26 billion euros on December 31, 2022, with a like-for-like increase of +10.9% for the same period last year. The group recorded a strong improvement in the operating margin, at 19.5%. Net earnings per share amounted to 11.26 euros, an increase of 27.6%.

Regarding the Professional Products Division (growth at +18.3%), the group maintained its momentum growth in all its geographic Zone thanks to its omnichannel strategy, with outstanding performances in mainland China, despite the pandemic and inflation, India and Brazil. The Consumer Products Division, with brands such as Garnier, Maybelline, and L'Oréal Paris, posted its best growth in 20 years (+14.6%), with makeup as the fastest-growing category and skincare as the top contributor. The L'Oréal Luxe category containing brands such as Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani and Lancôme holds first place with 14.6 billion euros in sales (+18.6%) for the second consecutive year thanks to the fragrances. The division that recorded the most significant growth was the Active Cosmetics Division, having double-digit growth in all Zone, with 5.1 billion euros (+30.6%) "strengthened its recommendation-based model and grew twice as fast as the dermocosmetics market" from the report.

Geographically, North America reached the 10-billion-euro sales threshold, reporting strong growth of 24.6%. Europe remains the leading market, with sales of 11.4 billion euros (+12.3%) exceeding pre-pandemic levels, driven by fragrance, makeup and sun protection. North Asia sales were 11.3 billion euros (+14.8%), with double-digit growth recorded in Japan and Korea, outperforming the beauty market.

"Mindful of the current uncertainties, we remain ambitious for the future, optimistic about the outlook for the beauty market, and confident in our ability to keep outperforming the market and achieve in 2023 another year of growth in sales and profits." said Nicolas Hieronimus, the CEO of L'Oréal, which announce his optimistic view for the group's future performance.

Likewise, from the Coty Q2 2023 release, the demand for beauty products remains robust during the second quarter, particularly in prestige fragrances and the mass beauty market fueled by Travel Retail momentum. The group's Prestige business continues to grow the fragrance category and premium portfolio with brands such as Burberry, Gucci, Boss, and Chloe. "I am incredibly pleased by Coty's tenth consecutive quarter of delivering results inline to ahead of expectations, especially as most quarters surpassed expectations despite the highly complex external environment, with particular pressures this quarter from component shortages and FX. This delivery validates the strength of our brands, our teams, and the growing nimbleness of our organization, positioning us for success in various macro scenarios." commented Sue Y. Nabi, the CEO of Coty, on the operating result with the total reported operating income at $199.3 million in 2Q23 and $371.2 million for the first half of the year 2023.