The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (Estée Lauder) has announced its Q3 2018 financials.
The company saw net sales increase 18% over the same period last year, up to $3.37 billion.
Skin Care saw net sales of $1,447 million, a 31% increase on a reported basis. La Mer, Estée Lauder, Origins, Glamglow and Clinique each saw double digit global growth. The segment saw growth in Asia, where skin care represents around 60% of the region’s product category mix.
Related: Estee Lauder Reports Double Digit Growth for Q2 2018
Makeup sales increased 9%, at $1,388 million. Growth drivers included Estée Lauder (fueled by the Double Wear Foundation and Pure Color product lines), Tom Ford, MAC and Clinique. MAC had a strong showing in Asia/Pacific, specifically China and Hong Kong, and saw success in travel retail as well as the specialty-multi channel in the United States. Increases were partially offset by lower makeup sales in the United States, largely due to slow brick-and-mortar foot traffic.
The Fragrance and Hair Care segments each saw 7% growth, at $382 million and $139 million in net sales, respectively. In fragrance, luxury brands such as Jo Malone London, Tom Ford and By Kilian saw double-digit gains. In hair care, Aveda saw growth due to online and travel retail channels, while Bumble and Bumble found success in Ulta Beauty.
Said president and CEO Fabrizio Freda, “Our company delivered another excellent quarter in what we expect to be an outstanding fiscal year. Many areas of our business that contributed to our strong first-half results continued to thrive in our third quarter, as we generated 13% sales growth and 17% adjusted earnings per share growth, each in constant currency. Among our multiple engines of growth, travel retail, online and Asia again were standouts, and we experienced strong momentum in other high growth channels and markets. Our performance this quarter reflected robust global demand across our portfolio, with virtually all our brands posting sales growth. Each of our three biggest brands grew globally, with exceptional growth in Estée Lauder. These results reflect our strong array of hero products, as well as product and service innovations that resonated well with today’s diverse global consumers.”
