Financial News

Revenues Surge 7% At P&G in Third Quarter

Procter & Gamble’s (P&G) earnings for its third-quarter ended March 31 slid 1.1% to $2.59 billion, but revenues rose 7.4% to $19.18 billion.

Beauty sales rose 6% to $4.6 billion on a 4% rise in unit volume. Fabric care and home care net sales increased 8% to
$5.8 billion.

All major hair care brands contributed to global volume growth in the beauty sector, according to the company. Female beauty volume grew mid-single digits primarily due to a double-digit increase in shipments of female skin care products driven by the Olay Natural White initiative in Asia. Salon professional volume declined high single digits mainly due to the exit of non-strategic businesses, while organic volume declined mid-single digits primarily due to continued market contractions. Prestige volume increased mid-single digits due mainly to a weak base period comparison in travel retail and Western Europe, partially offset by continued market softness in Asia and North America.

For the nine months, total corporate sales rose 2% to $60 billion, but net income declined 4% to $10.5 billion.


Q1 Sales Jump 8% at L’Oréal

Could luxury be back already? Pundits insist that the new consumer eschews expensive products, but L’Oréal attributes its big gain in the first quarter to consumers’ renewed interest in luxury. L’Oréal’s first quarter sales rose 8% to $6.54 billion, according to the company.


LVMH’s Perfume & Cosmetics Sales See Q1 Growth

LVMH’s Perfumes & Cosmetics unit recorded organic revenue growth of 12% in the first quarter of 2010, with sales of $1 billion.

The luxury goods firm said that on the fragrance side, Christian Dior benefited from the growth of Fahrenheit and of Miss Dior Chérie, while Guerlain successfully rolled out its new Idylle perfume and Givenchy saw strong growth thanks to the progress of its Play line.

In cosmetics, Capture Totale One Essential had “immense success” and DiorShow Extase mascara “is having a very promising start,” according to the company.


Sales Up 3% in Q4 at Blyth

Blyth said its fourth quarter sales rose 3% to $322.4 million.

Sales growth in PartyLite’s International markets and in Blyth’s wholesale seasonal decor and premium candle brand were partially offset by lower sales volume in PartyLite U.S. and in the foodservice and catalog and internet business units. International sales represented 53% of total sales in the fourth quarter of this year versus 47% in last year’s fourth quarter.


Inter Parfums Reports 32% Increase in Q1 Sales

Inter Parfums, Inc.’s first quarter sales jumped 32% to $119.4 million.

“The new year started on a strong note,” stated chairman and chief executive officer of Inter Parfums Jean Madar.

Discussing U.S.-based operations, Madar pointed out, “Our specialty retail sales benefited from increased international distribution. Of note, Bebe signature fragrance has done especially well in overseas markets, plus we expanded its domestic distribution into additional third party retail outlets. We are especially pleased that after a protracted period of declining sales, our mass market business is seeing the beginnings of a turnaround, as evidenced by the 20% sales improvement over the first quarter of 2009.”


Sales Rise at Bare Escentuals

Bare Escentuals, Inc.’s net sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 rose 12% to $165.1 million. Net sales for the fiscal year increased 2% to $557.5 million.

The company was recently acquired by Shiseido.


Strong Q1 Results for Ecolab

More signs that the economy is growing again come from Ecolab Inc.’s strong first quarter earnings, as sales improved, led by strong growth from its food safety-focused Kay unit.

Ecolab’s reported net sales rose 6% to $1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2010; measured in fixed currencies, sales rose 2%. Net income attributable to shareholders increased 66% to $96 million.

Kay led sales results with a strong gain, while healthcare sales were off slightly primarily due to the rebalancing of H1N1-related product trade inventories. Ecolab’s U.S. cleaning and sanitizing operating income increased 11% to $113 million.


Q1 Sales Increase at Nu Skin

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. posted positive first-quarter results, with a 23% rise in revenue to $364.1 million.

“We started the year off strong, generating record results while focusing on innovation in our products and processes,” said Truman Hunt, company president and chief executive officer. “Our ageLOC skin care system continues to be a significant catalyst by generating tremendous distributor excitement and consumer demand. During the quarter, we continued the global ageLOC rollout, with launches in the United States, Europe and South Korea.”

According to Hunt, the ageLOC product launch has been the most successful in the company’s history, “generating more than $80 million in just the first two quarters of product sales.” NuSkin also supplemented the ageLOC launch by introducing a new and improved ageLOC version of its top-selling Galvanic Spa System.

First-quarter revenue in the Americas rose 7% to $62.5 million.