PARIS -- L'Oreal says demand for luxury beauty products and strong sales in emerging markets boosted net profit 10 per cent in the first half of the year.
The French company behind high-end brands like Viktor & Rolfe and Shu Uemura and more everyday products such as Maybelline said Tuesday that its net profit was C1.6 billion (US$2 billion) for the January through June period. It had previously reported a 10 per cent increase in sales to C11.2 billion.
Sales in its L'Oreal Luxe luxury goods division rose 18 per cent, making it the biggest driver of growth.
While the luxury market has been resilient to the global economic slowdown, business in Europe has not. Instead, the company has pushed hard into developing markets, where sales were up 14 per cent.
