The company said that full year sales were €22.98bn, which represented an increase of 16.9% in organic terms, and 5.0% when taking into consideration the negative impact of currency translations.
“2013 was another year of robust growth for L’Oréal. The Group achieved sustained sales growth and, in a market whose expansion was more moderate in 2013, accelerated its outperformance versus the market,” said Jean-Paul Agon chairman and Chief Executive Officer at L’Oréal.
Profits hit record levels
Looking at the company’s performance on a geographic basis, with Agon pointing to the fact that the overall performance of the business was ‘solid’ in Europe, while North America showed growth in sales and market share, in a ‘less buoyant’ context, whereas all new markets except Japan returned double-digit growth.
Meanwhile, the company also said that net profit after non-controlling interests was up 3.2%, while net earnings per share were up by 4.4% to reach €5.13.
“Profitability reached a record level in 2013, confirming the relevance of our business model," said Agon.
Looking ahead to the full financial year 2014 Agon said he believes the company is in a position to outperform the market again, by returning further growth in both sales and profit results.
Changes to the board of directors
The company also announced that it has made some changes to the board of directors, confirming that Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, who is currently CEO of finance group FIMALAC, will not be seeking re-election to the board of directors in 2014.
Ladreit de Lacharrière, has not requested to have his board membership renewed, which will leave him free to step down from the position he has held for 30 years.
The board has confirmed that at the next Annual General Meeting it will seek the appointment as new Board Director of Belen Garijo, who currently serves as President and CEO of Merck Serono, pharmaceutical subsidiary of the German group Merck.