L’Oreal Q3 sales rise, China has become ‘has become even more challenging’

Investing.com — L’Oreal reported solid third-quarter sales growth, driven by robust performance in Europe and other regions, though its North Asia operations, particularly in China, faced ongoing challenges.

The global beauty giant posted total sales of 10.28 billion euros for the quarter, marking a 3.4% increase like-for-like and a 2.8% rise on a reported basis.

For the first nine months of 2024, L’Oreal’s sales reached 32.4 billion euros, reflecting 6% growth both like-for-like and reported.

Growth was driven by all categories, with fragrances and haircare showing the strongest momentum.

“We delivered solid growth of +6% in the first nine months, well-balanced between value and volume, despite multiple turbulences that have negatively impacted our third quarter,” said CEO Nicolas Hieronimus.

Europe emerged as a key performer, with sales up 9.3% like-for-like, while North America also showed resilience with a 6.9% increase. However, North Asia posted a 3% decline in like-for-like sales as China’s economic conditions remain difficult.

“The situation in the Chinese ecosystem has become even more challenging, but we believe in the future of this market and hope that the governmental stimulus will help improve consumer confidence,” Hieronimus added.

Despite economic uncertainties and geopolitical risks, Hieronimus expressed confidence in L’Oreal’s ability to deliver another year of growth. “We remain confident to achieve another year of growth in sales and operating profit and are preparing our own beauty stimulus plan for 2025,” he said.

Following the earnings release, shares of U.S. beauty stocks declined. Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) is down over 2%, while e.l.f Beauty fell 6% and Coty (NYSE:COTY) Inc. dropped 2.2%.