L’Oreal Shares Surge as Demand Grows for Premium Makeup Brands
- Cosmetics maker maintains outlook for stronger second half
- Lancome owner’s shares rise 5.2% in early Paris trading
Tubes of L'Oreal Skin Perfection cream, manufactured by L'Oreal SA, sit for sale inside a pharmacy in London, U.K., on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014. L'Oreal, the world's largest cosmetics company, agreed to buy back 8 percent of its stock for 6 billion euros ($8.2 billion) from Nestle SA, which has been an investor for 40 years.
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/BloombergL’Oreal SA’s shares soared the most in almost seven months after revenue beat analysts’ estimates on rising demand for the cosmetic maker’s high-end brands in North America.
Third-quarter sales excluding acquisitions, disposals and currency swings rose 5.6 percent, L’Oreal said Thursday after European markets closed. Analysts predicted growth of 4.5 percent. The maker of Urban Decay cosmetics reiterated that it expects second-half sales to improve on last year’s result. The shares rose as much as 5.2 percent in early Paris trading, the biggest intraday gain since April 19.