The world’s largest cosmetics group, L’Oréal, has just released its fourth quarter results and reported a strong performance.
Sales for the last three months of 2021 at L’Oréal rose 11.2% on a comparable basis to €9.09 billion ($10.40 billion), with the fastest growth coming from North America. Indeed, the luxury group was able to benefit from strong consumption of beauty products in the U.S. and China, particularly during the holiday season.
“2021 was a historic year for L’Oréal. Thanks to the expertise, passion and commitment of our 85,400 L’Orealians around the world, the Group achieved record growth of +16.1%, double the global beauty market. L’Oréal gained market share in all Zones, Divisions and categories. Over two years, the Group achieved growth of +11.3% on a like-for-like basis, spectacularly outperforming a market that had almost returned to its 2019 levels,” commented Nicolas Hieronimus, Chief Executive Officer of L’Oréal.
L’Oréal also benefited from an increase in employment and rising wages in the United States, where consumers treated themselves to luxury products as restrictions eased in the face of the coronavirus. A boost this quarter also came from l’Oréal’s strategic buyout of 4% of its own shares from Nestlé.
The French company was also able to take advantage of the digital boom, already well developed during the various confinements. This quarter, e-commerce grew by 25.7%, representing 28% of sales.
“The exceptional growth of L’Oreal, driven by superior innovations, as well as a rigorous control of costs, has allowed us to invest heavily in our brands and increase their attractiveness, while delivering a record operating profit and an operating margin up 50 basis points “, adds Hieronimus.
The group remains confident in its ability to outperform the market in 2022 through another year of growth in both revenues and profits.
Read also > L’ORÉAL REPORTS 20% SALES GROWTH IN Q3
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