Coty has reported an 18 percent uptick in first quarter sales to USD 1.64 billion, on the back of strong growth in its prestige category, and double-digit gains across all markets, including Asia Pacific.
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Coty said Asia Pacific sales grew 16 percent as reported and 19 percent like-for-like (LFL) in the first quarter ending September 30, citing “strength” in broader Asia and its travel retail sales in the region. In China, Coty said sell-out growth in its prestige business was well ahead of the market, growing by double digits percentage in mainland China and triple digits percentage in Hainan.
Globally, Coty’s prestige segment surged 23 percent to USD 1.06 billion, on the back of a 25 percent uptick in fragrance, partially offset by the gradual recovery of its makeup business in China. Meanwhile, Coty’s consumer beauty first-quarter revenues grew by 10 percent as reported, to USD 576.7 million.
During the three months, the U.S.-based beauty giant swung to a net loss of USD 1.7 million, from a net income of $125.3 million in the prior year, due to a higher benefit in the prior year from a change in Wella’s fair value.
“We are proud of our great Q1 results, with sales growth once again amongst the best in our peer set and ahead of the beauty market. Coty continues to deliver on our balanced growth agenda, with strong LFL growth across both divisions and all regions, with growth contribution from volumes and premiumized mix, complemented by targeted pricing, and from our key categories including fragrances, cosmetics, and skincare,” said Coty CEO, Sue Nabi.
‘While the external environment remains complex and consumers are being considered in their spending, the beauty category remains advantaged, at the nexus of affordable luxury, self-care, and confidence boosting. We remain well positioned to benefit from this strong beauty performance, while capitalizing on the multiple white space opportunities in our portfolio, including female fragrances, ultra premium fragrances, skincare, China and travel retail. These opportunities and our strong Q1 delivery enable us to raise our FY24 guidance for the second time this fiscal year.”
In its strategic update in July this year, Coty homed in on Asia for future growth, and pointed out the “white space” in China, which clocks an estimated 13 percent of beauty sales worldwide and 4 percent of the group’s sales overall.
The New York firm went on explain that China is a major fragrance market, with sales of prestige perfumes up 66 percent compared to 2020, and growing 1.5-times faster than China’s prestige beauty segment, adding its Burberry Hero fragrance is ranked in the top 3 male fragrances in China.
Looking ahead, Coty said it aims to more than double its sales in China to more than USD 600 million by fiscal-year 2026.