Estee Lauder Says Expected Q3 China Slowdown Didn’t Happen; More Financial News In Brief

Robust skin-care demand and luxury appetites in Asian and travel retail markets continue to propel the [Estee Lauder Companies Inc.], which recorded $3.74bn in fiscal 2019 third-quarter sales, an increase of 11%, reported, versus the same period a year ago. (Also see "Lauder Investing In Americas Turnaround While Asia/Pacific Continues To Soar" - HBW Insight, 6 February, 2019.) “We delivered terrific performance in our fiscal third quarter, driven by strategic investments in our best opportunities combined with creativity and data-driven insights that fueled exciting innovations,” states President and Chief Executive Officer Fabrizio Freda in the firm’s May 1 announcement. He notes that the firm had projected growth moderation in China and travel retail – “which didn’t happen, and that contributed to our overachievement.” For the full year, Lauder now anticipates reported sales growth of 7% to 8% compared with the prior year.

[Coty Inc.] remains in turnaround mode, focused on cost optimization and profitability while looking ahead to fiscal 2020 to begin revving growth engines. The firm’s sales fell 10.4% to $1.99bn, reported, in the fiscal 2019 third quarter, according to its May 8 release. Like-for-like, revenue decreased 3.7%, reflecting an estimated 2% impact from accounting changes and supply chain-related headwinds that leadership says have now been largely resolved. Reported operating income increased to $85.5m versus $20.7m in the same period a year ago