Middle East
- Sales: 29.87 billion euros
o +8.0% like-for-like (1)
o +8.8% at constant exchange rates
o +10.9% based on reported figures
- Operating profit: 5.54 billion euros, an increase of +12.7% (2)
- Earnings per share (3) : 7.74 euros, an increase of +9.3%
- Operating cash flow (4) : 5.03 billion euros, an increase of +29.8%
- Dividend (5) : 4.25 euros, an increase of +10.4%
The Board of Directors of L’Oréal met on 6 February 2020, under the chairmanship of Jean-Paul Agon and int he presence of the Statutory Auditors. The Board closed the consolidated financial statements and the financial statements for 2019.
Commenting on the Annual Results, Jean-Paul Agon, Chairman and CEO of L’Oréal, said: “L’Oréal closed the decade with its best year for sales growth since 2007, at +8.0% like-for-like and an excellent fourth quarter, in a beauty market that remains very dynamic. All Divisions are growing. L’Oréal Luxe sales exceeded 11 billion euros, driven by the strong dynamism of its four big brands – Lancôme, Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani and Kiehl’s – which all posted double-digit growth. The Active Cosmetics Division had its best year ever, with La Roche-Posay sales exceeding one billion euros. Growth at the Consumer Products Division was boosted by L’Oréal Paris which had a great year. Lastly, growth improved in the Professional Products Division; the highlight was the double-digit performance of Kérastase.
Performances by geographic Zone were contrasted. The New Markets posted their strongest growth for more than 10 years (1). Asia Pacific became the Group’s number one Zone, with a remarkable end to the year in China, but also good growth in South Korea, India, Indonesia and Malaysia. Eastern Europe maintained its strong growth rate, and Western Europe returned to growth last year. North America was impacted by the poor performance in makeup.
E-commerce and Travel Retail, which are also powerful growth drivers, contributed strongly to the Group’s success. E-commerce grew spectacularly by +52.4% (6) and accounts for 15.6% of sales. Travel Retail maintained its strong momentum and posted growth of +25.3% (1).
2019 also saw good growth in our profits. The strong growth in sales and the increase in gross profit, combined with the lower weight of operating expenses, enabled us both to invest more in our brands and to improve our profitability.
Once again this year, the strength of L’Oréal’s well-balanced business model paid off. It is the universal presence of L’Oréal, which covers the whole beauty market, combined with its talented teams all over the world, which enable the Group to keep on achieving profitable and sustainable growth, while again strengthening its position as the beauty market leader.
Meanwhile, in a world that was hit particularly hard by climate-related uncertainties in 2019, L’Oréal is continuing its initiatives to promote responsible and sustainable growth. For the fourth consecutive year, CDP awarded the Group three A ratings for its initiatives in tackling climate change, sustainable water management and combating deforestation. L’Oréal was also recognised, for the tenth time, as one of the world’s most ethical companies by Ethisphere Institute. And lastly, the Group is playing a major role in gender equality, and its leadership in this field has been recognised by Equileap and Bloomberg. These extra-financial performances are a source of pride for the Group, which is firmly committed to promoting a responsible and sustainable model.
The coming weeks will certainly be challenging for the people of China in their battle against the coronavirus epidemic, and we want to convey our deepest solidarity with them. We are of course fully supportive and united with our Chinese teams, and are carefully monitoring the situation. We trust the Chinese authorities to take effective and appropriate measures to best contain this epidemic.
This context will have a temporary impact on the beauty market in the region and therefore on our business in China and Travel Retail Asia, even if it is too early to assess it. The experiences we have had with similar situations in the past (SARS, MERS, etc.) show that, after a period of disturbance, consumption resumes stronger than before. Therefore, at this stage, and assuming that this epidemic follows a similar pattern, we are confident in our capacity this year again to outperform the beauty market and achieve another year of growth in both sales and profits.”
. …/…(1) Like-for-like: based on a comparable structure and identical exchange rates.
(2) Growth amounts to 11.8% after excluding the impact of the IFRS 16 accounting rule.
(3) Diluted net earnings per share, excluding non-recurring items, after non-controlling interests.
(4) Operating cash flow = Gross cash flow + changes in working capital - investments.
(5) Proposed at the Annual General Meeting of 21 April 2020.
(6) Sales achieved on our brands’ own websites + estimated sales achieved by our brands corresponding to sales through our retailers’ websites (non-audited data).
About L'Oréal
L’Oréal has devoted itself to beauty for over 100 years. With its unique international portfolio of 36 diverse and complementary brands, the Group generated sales amounting to 29.87 billion euros in 2019 and employs 88,000 people worldwide. As the world’s leading beauty company, L’Oréal is present across all distribution networks: mass market, department stores, pharmacies and drugstores, hair salons, travel retail, branded retail and e-commerce.
Research and innovation, and a dedicated research team of 4,100 people, are at the core of L’Oréal’s strategy, working to meet beauty aspirations all over the world. L’Oréal sets out ambitious sustainable development goals across the Group for 2030 and aims to empower its ecosystem for a more inclusive and sustainable society.
More information: https://mediaroom.loreal.com/
L'Oréal Contacts
Individual Shareholders and Market Regulators
Christian MUNICH
+33 (0)1 47 56 72 06
[email protected]
Financial Analysts and Institutional Investors
Françoise LAUVIN
+33 (0)1 47 56 86 82
[email protected]
Media
Polina HUARD
+33 (0)1 47 56 87 88
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Switchboard: +33 (0)1 47 56 70 00