PARIS — French beauty products company L'Oreal said Wednesday sales rose by 3.6 percent in the first quarter of this year, boosted by growth in professional and dermatological products.
The firm — which also owns the Maybelline, Garnier and Biotherm brands — posted sales of 12.2 billion euros ($14.2 billion) for the January through March period, beating the expectations of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Using adjusted data that strips out changes in exchange rates and in business operations and includes the impact of IT changes, the growth rate was 6.7 percent.
"We not only outperformed a beauty market that remains dynamic but accelerated our market share gains around the world," chief executive Nicolas Hieronimus said in a statement.
"Despite current geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties, we are optimistic about the outlook for the global beauty market," he added.
The sales growth represents a rebound from the final quarter of last year, when they fell short of analyst expectations, stoking fears of weakness for its luxury brands and in the key Chinese market.
The luxury segment — which includes brands such as Lancome, Yves Saint Laurent and Giorgio Armani — stabilized with 0.3 percent growth from the first quarter of last year on a reported basis, and 5.6 percent on an adjusted like-for-like basis.
The company noted its acquisition of Kering Beaute closed at the end of last month, bolstering its portfolio with fragrances and beauty products under the Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga brands.
L'Oreal's North Asia region, which includes China, saw sales tumble nine percent on reported basis, but rose by 4.8 percent on an adjusted like-for-like basis.
"This was driven by China, where growth stood in mid to high single digits, a clear acceleration from last year — and well ahead of a market that confirmed its recovery," it said.
The consumer products division, L'Oreal's largest, turned in the weakest gain of 4.1 percent on an adjusted like-for-like basis.
Both the professional products, which include Redken, and dermatological beauty division whose brands include La Roche-Posay, CeraVe, and Vichy, posted double-digit sales growth.
