The Estée Lauder Companies has reported a net sales increase of 14% to $3.27bn, in the first quarter of fiscal 2018.
The brand owner’s recent acquisitions of Too Faced and BECCA are said to have contributed approximately 4% points of the reported sales growth.
Fabrizio Freda, President and CEO of Estée Lauder Companies, said: “We delivered an outstanding financial performance in our fiscal 2018 first quarter, demonstrating the power of our diverse brand portfolio to leverage our multiple engines of growth.”
“With this strong start to fiscal 2018 and our confidence in the potential for our business, we are raising our full-year constant currency sales growth forecast to between 8% and 9% and increasing our constant currency earnings per share growth estimate, before restructuring charges, to 12% to 14%.”
Skin care soars
In the skin care division, net sales increased by 16%, with double digit growth from Estée Lauder, La Mer, GLAMGLOW and Origins.
The company's retail expansion in Asia, and specifically China, was key for Estée Lauder and Origins.
Meanwhile, new product launches helped drive the sales of GLAMGLOW and La Mer.
However, Clinique and Aveda were noted for a disappointing performance.
Make-up matters
The company’s make-up category grew by 18% in the first fiscal quarter, driven primarily by recent acquisitions of Too Faced and BECCA.
Double digit growth was seen from Tom Ford, due to recent lip colour launches.
Estée Lauder also witnessed double digit growth thanks to Double Wear and Pure Color lip product lines.
MAC saw strong growth in China and travel retail.
However, make-up sales fell in the US, primarily from Clinique and Bobbi Brown, said to reflect a slower footfall in brick-and-mortar stores.
Fragrance firsts
Although a slower increase than skin care and make-up, Estée Lauder Companies' fragrance category grew by 8%.
Jo Malone’s recent launch of the English Oak fragrances, as well as its customer repositioning has fuelled growth for the brand.
Tom Ford and Le Labo also supported the fragrance category growth, offsetting disappointing figures from the Estée Lauder fragrances.