Estée Lauder Companies says it expects to grow “ahead of the industry” in fiscal 2020 and to continue building global share.
The owner of La Mer, Clinique and MAC said that it expects global prestige beauty to grow approximately 5-6% during the year.
The forecast was made as the company released its Q1 sales figures, which showed growth of 24% to US$1.8bn.
However, it acknowledged several geopolitical risks that it said it is taking into consideration with its predictions going forwards.
The company said it is mindful of costs associated with continued uncertainty related to Brexit in the UK and weakness of bricks-and-mortar retail in the US and UK.
In Asia, it is conscious of the expectation for a gradual moderation of net sales growth in China and travel retail from recent levels, as well as continued challenges in Hong Kong impacting shopping areas.
The recent protests in Hong Kong impacted the company’s performance in Q1 2020, although growth did accelerate in mainland China.
In North America, the company’s success was dampened by “soft” colour cosmetics sales, although skin care continued to grow with sales of hero products increasing double digits across all categories.
Estée Lauder Companies reported its strongest net sales in EMEA up 17% to $1.68bn, boosted by travel retail and online sales.
In travel retail, Estée Lauder, La Mer, Origins, Jo Malone London and Bobbi Brown saw double-digit gains.
For the full year fiscal 2020, earnings per share are projected to be between $5.58-$5.69.
