Estée Lauder sales increases 18% in Q1 2012

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. reported an outstanding financial performance for its first quarter ended Sept. 30, 2011. For the quarter, the company had net sales of USD 2.48 billion, an 18% increase compared with USD 2.09 billion reported in the prior-year quarter. Excluding the impact of foreign currency translation, net sales increased 14% from a year ago. The company also reported net earnings for the quarter of USD 278.6 million, a 46% increase compared with USD 191.1 million last year.

Fabrizio Freda, Estée Lauder president and CEO, said, "Our very strong company performance continued to be broad-based, highlighted by healthy top line growth across all categories and regions, strong bottom line growth and continued margin expansion. These results reflect the strength of our brands, the appeal of our superior product innovations, and the effectiveness of our focused advertising and marketing spending. The recent economic uncertainty and financial market volatility have not significantly impacted our business. The strength of our underlying fundamentals, our winning strategy and the increasing efficiency of our business model enabled us to significantly outperform the beauty industry and continue to report exceptional results. As we move forward in this environment, we believe the strategies we have implemented better position us for sustained growth and increased profitability. We plan to leverage the strength of our brand portfolio and formidable creativity to capture share and maximize growth for the long term.”

"The companys strong performance was due to solid overall business, particularly from its largest brands, helped by a weaker U.S. dollar," Estée Lauder stated. And added: "The company grew double-digits in every region, including the U.S., its home market. Sales also increased in virtually all product categories within each region. Sales growth was particularly strong in travel retail and emerging markets, along with solid gains in many developed countries."

In the skin care category, which is a strategic priority for Estée Lauder, the company saw net sales of over USD 1 billion for the quarter, up 25% over the same quarter in 2010. In makeup, the company grew the category’s net sales 17% over last year’s same quarter, to $928.8 million. This growth reflected strong increases, primarily from the companys makeup artist brands and certain heritage brands. In fragrance, the company saw net sales of $356.8 million, an increase of 7% over 2010, and the hair care category increased its net sales 10% over 2010 to $103.8 million.