PARIS—L'Oréal reported its nine-month sales as of Sept. 30, 2011 were €15.087 billion, with very strong growth in Asia, solid growth in Latin America and North America, strong dynamism of Luxury Division and its full-year 2011 targets were confirmed.
"With a solid third quarter, the group is confirming its good dynamics, in a market which again reflected contrasting trends in geographic zones and distribution channels," said Jean-Paul Agon, chairman and CEO of L'Oréal. “Across the divisions, L'Oréal Luxury produced an outstanding performance, bolstered by the dynamism of Kiehl's, Giorgio Armani, Diesel and also Lancôme, which is making the headlines with Visionnaire, a breakthrough innovation symbolizing the renewal of the brand and the quality of our research. The Consumer Products Division trend is positive, thanks in particular to Maybelline. The Professional Products and Active Cosmetics Divisions are improving their performances in markets that have once again shown modest growth. In geographic terms, L'Oréal is confirming its dynamism in Asia, reflecting high performances not only in China, but also in India and South-East Asia. Growth remains strong in Latin America, despite a deceleration in Brazil. In North America, L'Oréal is continuing to increase faster than the market. In Western Europe, the group is in line with a market trend reflecting highly contrasting situations. With a favorable cosmetics market trend despite the uncertainties facing the worldwide economy, we are tackling the last quarter with confidence. We confirm our aim of outperforming the market in 2011, and achieving another year of growth in both sales and profitability."
The company reported like-for-like, i.e. based on a comparable structure and identical exchange rates, the sales trend of the L'Oréal group was +5.1 percent; the net impact of changes in consolidation was +0.6 percent; currency fluctuations had a negative impact of -1.8 percent; and growth at constant exchange rates was +5.7 percent. If current exchange rates (basis €1=$1.388) are extrapolated up to Dec. 31, the impact of currency fluctuations would be -1.7 percent for the whole of 2011. Based on reported figures, the group's sales, at Sept. 30, 2011, amounted to €15.087 billion, an increase of +3.9 percent.