L'Oreal 4Q Recovery Beat Expectations -- Earnings Review

By Giulia Petroni

L'Oreal SA reported full-year 2020 results on Thursday. Here's what you need to know:

SALES: The French cosmetics and consumer-products company reported sales of 27.99 billion euros ($33.94 billion) compared with EUR29.87 billion a year earlier. On a like-for-like basis, sales fell 4.1% on year. In the fourth quarter, sales came in at EUR7.88 billion.

WHAT WE WATCHED:

-FOURTH QUARTER: The group returned to growth in the second half, with fourth-quarter results beating market expectations and outperforming the sector, according to analysts. Sales in the quarter recorded a like-for-like growth of 4.8% on year, mainly driven by the active-cosmetics business which rose 31% like-for-like.

-E-COMMERCE: The channel boomed during the pandemic, recording a 62% sales jump across all regions and divisions. E-commerce sales accounted for 26.6% of the group's total sales for the year.

-GUIDANCE: The company didn't provide quantitative guidance for 2021, but analysts expect progressive improvements assuming no lockdowns in place. "For FY21, we forecast a 13.5% like-for-like growth and a 75 basis points adjusted Ebit margin expansion up to 18.7%," UBS says.

Write to Giulia Petroni at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 12, 2021 06:59 ET (11:59 GMT)

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