L’Oréal Reports Strong Growth in First Half

“In the first half, we delivered strong growth of +7.3%, well-balanced between value and volume and strengthened our global leadership in a beauty market that remains dynamic,” Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO of L’Oréal, said upon release of the company’s half-year results.

In the first six months, sales were €22.12 billion ($23.92 billion), up +7.5% reported. Like-for-like sales grew by +7.3%.

“Our continued strong momentum in emerging markets, Europe and North America allowed us to more than offset the depressed beauty market in mainland China and the unfavourable comparative in Travel Retail. In this context, I am particularly pleased to see the acceleration of L’Oréal Luxe, the dynamism of Consumer Products and the continued share gains of Dermatological Beauty and Professional Products,” added Hieronimus. “The combination of our powerful R&I and unique marketing creativity allowed us to offer consumers groundbreaking innovations. The consistent increase of our A&P spend to support these innovations and our 37 international brands allowed us to, once again, outpace the global beauty market.”

2024 Half-Year Sales by Division

Professional Products Division: The Professional Products Division delivered robust growth of +5.7% like-for-like and +4.9% reported, according to L’Oréal. Products grew across all regions; in developed markets, North Asia including China, as well as emerging markets, notably GCC4 and Latin America. It outpaced the global professional market, according to the beauty giant. L’Oréal says this unit to expand through its omnichannel strategy with strong acceleration in e-commerce and selective distribution.

In the haircare market, growth was fueled by prouct such as Kérastase Première, L’Oréal Professionnel Absolut Repair Molecular and Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate and Acidic Color Gloss. In hair color, Shades EQ from Redken, iNOA, as well as Dia Color by L’Oréal Professionnel maintained their momentum, according to officials.

In the second half of the year, L’Oréal said the Professional Products Division will further capitalize on the market for hair devices with the debut of its AirLight Pro hair dryer.

Consumer Products Division: The Consumer Products Division achieved strong growth of +8.9% like-for-like and +8.3% reported. The first half performance reinforced the division’s democratization and premiumization strategy driven by strong value (combining price and mix), while maintaining positive volumes.

Growth was driven by particularly strong performances in Europe and emerging markets, notably Brazil, Mexico, and India.

All major brands advanced strongly, according to L’Oréal. Officials pointed out the “excellent performance” of L’Oréal Paris, noting that it grew by double digits.

All categories remained dynamic, fueled by powerful innovations and activations. Haircare was a particular highlight, driven by continued premiumization, such as L’Oréal Paris’ Elvive Glycolic Gloss. Makeup delivered double-digit growth due to new launches like L’Oréal Paris Panorama mascara, NYX Professional Makeup Duck Plump lip gloss, and Maybelline New York’s Sunkisser blush. L’Oréal said skincare remained “very dynamic,” with Garnier democratizing the daily use of UV fluids, L’Oréal Paris launching Bright Reveal, a scientific breakthrough in the fight against dark spots, and Mixa pursuing its successful expansion in Europe.

L’Oréal Luxe: L’Oréal Luxe posted growth of +2.3% like-for-like, accelerating in 2Q24, and +4.0% reported. Growth was robust in Europe, and in double digits in North America as well as in emerging markets; on an aggregate basis, L’Oréal Luxe outperformed the luxury beauty market across these three regions. In mainland China, the Division continued to gain share in a negative market; Travel Retail in North Asia, meanwhile, saw first signs of improvement. Japan remained very dynamic, said the company.

Fragrance was again the most dynamic category. The company said L’Oréal Luxe outperformed the market across all regions, thanks to couture brands like Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, Maison Margiela and Prada as well as lifestyle including Azzaro. The rebound of makeup continued, fueled by powerful innovations from Yves Saint Laurent, Armani, and Urban Decay.

Dermatological Beauty: Dermatological Beauty reported excellent growth of +16.4% like-for-like and +15.5% reported, which L’Oréal said is growing “significantly faster than the dermo-cosmetics market, which remains dynamic despite the slowdown in the US.”

This outperformance once again vindicated its successful growth strategy, boosted by its medical leadership and unparalleled R&I foundation, said officials.

Developed and emerging markets as well as North Asia grew in double digits as Dermatological Beauty pursued its global expansion. In mainland China, the Division continued to make significant inroads, driven by SkinCeuticals and CeraVe.

With strong double-digit growth across all regions, La Roche-Posay remained the number one growth contributor to the division. This was fueled by the success of MelaB3, according to the company. CeraVe continued to grow strongly, significantly outperforming the global market. Vichy maintained its double-digit pace, supported by the success of its Dercos haircare franchise. Skinbetter Science sustained its strong momentum in the US and is off to a promising start in Canada, according to the company.

“In an environment that continues to be marked by economic and geopolitical tensions, we remain optimistic about the outlook for the beauty market and confident that our innovation power and the robustness of our multi-polar model will allow us to keep outperforming it and to achieve another year of growth in sales and profit,” noted Hieronimus.