L’Oréal: News Release: “2019 Annual Results”

Clichy, 6 February 2020 at 6.00 p.m.
2019 Annual ResultsBest sales growth of the decade: +8.0%¹
                    Record operating margin: 18.6%                   Sales: 29.87 billion euros+8.0% like-for-like ¹+8.8% at constant exchange rates+10.9% based on reported figuresOperating profit: 5.54 billion euros, an increase of +12.7% ²Earnings per share ³: 7.74 euros, an increase of +9.3%Operating cash flow ⁴: 5.03 billion euros, an increase of +29.8%Dividend ⁵: 4.25 euros, an increase of +10.4% The Board of Directors of L’Oréal met on 6 February 2020, under the chairmanship of Jean-Paul Agon and in the presence of the Statutory Auditors. The Board closed the consolidated financial statements and the financial statements for 2019.Commenting on the Annual Results, Jean-Paul Agon, Chairman and CEO of L’Oréal, said: “L’Oréal closed the decade with its best year for sales growth since 2007, at +8.0% like-for-like ¹, and an excellent fourth quarter, in a beauty market that remains very dynamic.All Divisions are growing. L’Oréal Luxe sales exceeded 11 billion euros, driven by the strong dynamism of its four big brands – Lancôme, Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani and Kiehl’s – which all posted double-digit growth. The Active Cosmetics Division had its best year ever, with La Roche-Posay sales exceeding one billion euros. Growth at the Consumer Products Division was boosted by L’Oréal Paris which had a great year. Lastly, growth improved in the Professional Products Division; the highlight was the double-digit performance of Kérastase.Performances by geographic Zone were contrasted. The New Markets posted their strongest growth for more than 10 years ¹. Asia Pacific became the Group’s number one Zone, with a remarkable end to the year in China, but also good growth in South Korea, India, Indonesia and Malaysia. Eastern Europe maintained its strong growth rate, and Western Europe returned to growth last year. North America was impacted by the poor performance in makeup.E-commerce and Travel Retail, which are also powerful growth drivers, contributed strongly to the Group’s success. E-commerce grew spectacularly by +52.4% ⁶ and accounts for 15.6% of sales. Travel Retail  maintained its strong momentum and posted growth of +25.3% ¹.       2019 also saw good growth in our profits. The strong growth in sales and the increase in gross profit, combined with the lower weight of operating expenses, enabled us both to invest more in our brands and to improve our profitability.
          
Once again this year, the strength of L’Oréal’s well-balanced business model paid off. It is the universal presence of L’Oréal, which covers the whole beauty market, combined with its talented teams all over the world, which enable the Group to keep on achieving profitable and sustainable growth, while again strengthening its position as the beauty market leader.  Meanwhile, in a world that was hit particularly hard by climate-related uncertainties in 2019, L’Oréal is continuing its initiatives to promote responsible and sustainable growth. For the fourth consecutive year, CDP awarded the Group three A ratings for its initiatives in tackling climate change, sustainable water management and combating deforestation. L’Oréal was also recognised, for the tenth time, as one of the world’s most ethical companies by Ethisphere Institute. And lastly, the Group is playing a major role in gender equality, and its leadership in this field has been recognised by Equileap and Bloomberg. These extra-financial performances are a source of pride for the Group, which is firmly committed to promoting a responsible and sustainable model.The coming weeks will certainly be challenging for the people of China in their battle against the coronavirus epidemic, and we want to convey our deepest solidarity with them. We are of course fully supportive and united with our Chinese teams, and are carefully monitoring the situation. We trust the Chinese authorities to take effective and appropriate measures to best contain this epidemic.This context will have a temporary impact on the beauty market in the region and therefore on our business in China and Travel Retail Asia, even if it is too early to assess it. The experiences we have had with similar situations in the past (SARS, MERS, etc.) show that, after a period of disturbance, consumption resumes stronger than before. Therefore, at this stage, and assuming that this epidemic follows a similar pattern, we are confident in our capacity this year again to outperform the beauty market and achieve another year of growth in both sales and profits.”The Board of Directors will propose to the Annual General Meeting of 21 April 2020 the renewal of the tenure as director of Ms Béatrice Guillaume-Grabisch and Mr Jean-Victor Meyers for a term of four years.The tenure of Mr Jean-Pierre Meyers, a director of L’Oréal since 1987, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors since 1994, and a member of the Strategy and Sustainable Development, Human Resources and Remuneration, and Appointments and Governance Committees, expires at the end of this Annual General Meeting.
Mr Jean-Pierre Meyers has informed the Board that he does not wish to request the renewal of his tenure as director, and declared that this seemed an opportune moment after 33 years of tenure to enable the continuation of the family connection, while stressing the family’s profound and lasting attachment to L’Oréal. Mr Jean-Paul Agon, on behalf of the Board of Directors, warmly thanked Mr Jean-Pierre Meyers for his outstanding contribution to the work of the Board and of its Committees over so many years. He paid tribute in particular to Mr Meyers’ profound knowledge of the company, his constant determination to preserve its values, his insistence on the highest standards of governance, and the support he has provided for the Group’s development and international success. On a personal note, Mr Jean-Paul Agon expressed his gratitude to Mr Meyers for his constant availability and for his advice, which has always been invaluable and wise.On the proposal of Ms Françoise Bettencourt Meyers and her family, the Board will propose to the Annual General Meeting the candidacy of Mr Nicolas Meyers as a new director for a term of four years.Mr Bernard Kasriel, a L’Oréal director since 2004 and a member of the Strategy and Sustainable Development Committee, has informed the Board of Directors that he does not wish to request the renewal of his tenure. The Board expressed its gratitude to Mr Bernard Kasriel for the quality of his contribution during his 16 years of tenure. He brought to the Board his experience as an executive of a large international industrial group. The Board thanks him for his commitment, his great freedom of judgement and his contribution of proposals for the work of the various Committees of which he has been a member or Chairman.Ms Eileen Naughton, a L’Oréal director since 2016, has informed the Board of Directors that she does not wish to request the renewal of her term of office. The Board thanks Ms Eileen Naughton for her participation in the debates of the Board and in the work of the Human Resources & Remuneration Committee of which she was a member.The Board will propose to the Annual General Meeting the candidacy as a new independent director of Ms Ilham Kadri, CEO of the Solvay group.If the Annual General Meeting approves the proposed renewals of tenure and candidacies, the number of independent directors will be 6 out of 12 directors appointed by the Annual General Meeting, that is 50%, and the number of women on the Board of Directors will be 7 out of 12, which corresponds to a women’s representation rate of 58% ⁷.As the appointments and renewals of tenure have an impact on the composition of the Committees, this is set out in detail in the table below, subject to the approval of the renewals of tenure and candidacies at the Annual General Meeting on 21 April 2020.Projected composition of the Board and Committees at the end of
the Annual General Meeting of 21 April 2020
 2019 Sales