L’Occitane International S.A. announced its unaudited quarterly update for the period ended December 31, 2021. The company released sales updates from the nine months ended December 31, 2021 (FY2022 9M), as well as in the three months ended December 31, 2021 (FY2022 Q3).
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In FY2022 9M, net sales amounted to €1,375.1 million, an increase of 14.2% at constant rates. Reported sales growth in FY2022 9M was 15.6% as foreign exchange rates turned favorable. Net sales in FY2022 Q3 grew 13.5% at reported rates and 9.5% at constant rates, despite comparing with a relatively positive result of 4.3% growth in the same quarter last year. Net sales growth in FY2022 Q3 accelerated as compared with pre-pandemic levels in FY2020, rising 14.6% on a like-for-like basis. This was higher than the growth in FY2022 Q1 of 3.1%, and in FY2022 Q2 of 7.0% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
The company’s core brand, L’Occitane en Provence, posted growth of 14.8% at constant rates, contributing 81.4% of the overall growth in FY2022 9M. Elemis further accelerated its growth to 35.9% at constant rates in FY2022 9M, driven by the rebound of its spa and wholesale businesses, the acceleration of online channels in both the United States and the United Kingdom, and the continued rollout in new markets. Meanwhile, sales of LimeLife declined 29.7%, due mainly to a high base last year and the sluggish recruitment of beauty guides this year. All key markets continued to show improvement and posted encouraging growth in FY2022 9M. Brazil, Russia, Hong Kong and China grew 40.7%, 28.1%, 25.7% and 18.5% at constant rates, respectively.
The company reported growth in FY2022 Q3 by 8.0% at constant rates, as well as the accelerated growth of Elemis, which grew 39.4% at constant rates. China continued to contribute most to the overall growth in FY2022 Q3, due to online and offline sales. FY2022 Q3 also saw a strong recovery in retail, wholesale and online channels. Due to a surge during the holiday season, the company posted roughly 13% growth in FY2022 Q3 as compared to the same quarter last year. Online channels reported a growth of 4.1% in FY2022 Q3 compared to a growth of 62.1% in FY2021 Q3.
André Hoffmann, vice-chairman and chief executive officer of L’Occitane, said, “Despite concerns about the accelerating spread of the Omicron variant, we delivered a strong holiday season in most key markets with growth contribution from all regions, namely Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas. The spirit of the season was not just restricted to physical channels, as online sales continued to grow nicely despite the increasingly normalized shopping environment, thanks to our longstanding effort to strengthen our omni-channel presence.”
Hoffmann concluded, “As we enter the final quarter of FY2022, the solid performances of our key brands will continue to drive our profitability. The addition of Sol de Janeiro to our brand portfolio will also be accretive to our results and will support our healthy and profitable growth in the short and medium-term, while further accelerating our transformation into a multi-brand and geographically-balanced group.”