L’Occitane International reported net sales amounted to EUR 843.4 million (USD 911.56 million), up 19.5 percent for the third quarter, rounding out an equally strong nine months for the beauty firm.
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For the nine-month period ending December 31, the company said net sales reached EUR 1.92 billion, up 18.9 percent, mainly driven by the continued “outperformance” of Sol de Janeiro, the “decent” performance of Elemis and the “steady” growth of L’Occitane en Provence in China.
By region, Asia Pacific sales grew 6.7 percent at constant rates for the nine months, mostly driven by the strong 21.9 percent growth at constant rates in China, thanks to L’Occitane en Provence and the continued development of Elemis. The Europe Middle East and Africa region grew 4.3 percent, while the Americas saw the most growth, up 67.1 percent, mainly driven by Sol de Janeiro in the U.S.
By brand, L’Occitane en Provence growth slowed slightly to 2.6 percent at constant rates for the nine-month period; a combined result of double-digit sales growth in China and strong holiday performances in the US and the UK, partially offset by a single-digit sales decline in EMEA and a low-teens percent sales decline in the travel retail channel.
Excluding Russia, from which the group divested in June 2022, the brand posted sales growth of 3.3 percent.Likewise, Elemis returned to double-digit growth of 12 percent, thanks to a solid holiday season, while Sol de Janeiro maintained its strong sales momentum with 199.1 percent growth.
The other brands segment together delivered growth of 10.9 percent, according to the Hong Kong-listed company via its earnings update.
“We delivered a decent holiday season, which enabled us to maintain our growth momentum and relative outperformance in the premium beauty market in China and other key markets. It was also pleasing to see Elemis return to growth in light of our ongoing premiumization strategy to support its long-term profitability,” said André Hoffmann, vice-chairman and chief executive officer of L’Occitane.“We will continue to build on the accelerating growth of Sol de Janeiro as we steadily expand its product and category range, and the scale and reach of its distribution. We will also further build on the healthy growth of other brands, including our recently acquired luxury home fragrance brand, Dr. Vranjes Firenze, to round out our portfolio.”
In the last three months, L’Occitane has appointed a new CEO — Laurent Marteau, and acquired Italian home fragrance brand, Dr. Vranjes Firenze; part of its growth in becoming a major force in the beauty industry.