L’Oreal Sales Growth Slows, Thanks To Currency Fluctuations

L'Oreal SA announced that 4th quarter sales rose only 0.6 percent, mainly because of fluctuations in exchange rates in some critical growth markets. Sales during the quarter totaled €5.76 billion ($7.85 billion), up from €5.73 billion last year. The slower quarterly growth pulled full-year sales growth down to 2.3 percent, at €22.98 billion. Net profit last year rose 3.2 percent to €2.96 billion from €2.87 billion, thanks to trimming of production costs. Currency moves cut 3.7 percent from of L'Oreal's sales last year, according to the company. In Brazil, for example, the value of the real has dropped sharply in recent months. Brazil, along with China and India, are critical to L'Oreal's growth because of their billions of potential customers.