After the lockdowns (hopefully), as soon as women (and men) started to leave the house they also started buying cosmetics again, and the results are reflected in the first half of the L’Oréal group. Turnover reached € 15.19 billion (+ 20.7% at current exchange rates, + 21.8% at constant exchange rates) with an increase of 33.5% in the second quarter. Market share increased across all divisions and geographies, with a strong acceleration in North America: + 44.7% in the second quarter. E-commerce continues to record very strong growth (+ 29.2% 2). The operating margin was at 19.7%, up 170 basis points, and the earnings per share grew by 21.1% to 4.63 euros.
Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Hieronimus explains: “At the end of June the group recorded a very strong increase and returned to the pre-Covid growth rate, + 6.6% on a like-for-like basis compared to the first half of 2019, with an acceleration of + 8.4% in the second quarter compared to 2019. In the second half of 2021 we are more confident than ever in our ability to outperform and achieve a year of growth in both sales and results. ”