Core Insights - The recent controversy surrounding La Roche-Posay's "Soothing Thermal Water Spray" has sparked discussions on social media, with critics labeling it as a "smart tax" due to its ingredient list primarily consisting of water, questioning its high price point [1] - L'Oréal Group reported a sales revenue of €22.473 billion (approximately ¥186.19 billion) for the first half of the year, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 3%, while operating profit reached approximately €4.74 billion (around ¥39.28 billion), also up by 3.1% [1] - Compared to the double-digit growth seen in the past three years, L'Oréal's growth rate for the first half of 2024 has noticeably slowed, with sales and operating profit both reverting to single-digit growth [1] Financial Performance - In the first half of 2024, L'Oréal's sales amounted to €22.12 billion, marking a year-on-year increase of 7.5%, while operating profit grew by 8% to €4.599 billion, accounting for 20.8% of sales, which is a 10 basis points increase year-on-year [1] - Net profit for the same period reached €3.65 billion, reflecting an 8.8% year-on-year growth [1] Segment Performance - L'Oréal's four major divisions experienced growth in the first half of the year, but with significant differences in growth rates. The Professional Products Division led with a 6.5% year-on-year growth, achieving sales of €2.55 billion (approximately ¥21.16 billion), driven by brands like Kérastase and Color Wow, which saw a second-quarter growth of 11.5% [2] - The Consumer Products Division reported sales of €8.41 billion (around ¥69.78 billion), with a year-on-year growth of 2.8% [2] - The Active Cosmetics Division generated sales of €3.86 billion (approximately ¥32.03 billion), with a year-on-year growth of 3.1%, supported by double-digit growth from brands like La Roche-Posay, SkinCeuticals, and CeraVe [2]

Group 1: Market Overview - Recent financial reports from international beauty leaders like L'Oréal and Procter & Gamble indicate a sequential improvement in growth rates for overseas brands in the Chinese market, particularly in functional skincare and medical aesthetics [1] - The beauty sector is experiencing significant changes, with a notable rise in domestic brands, highlighting a clear growth trend and increasing brand differentiation [1] Group 2: L'Oréal Performance - L'Oréal reported a sales figure of €22.47 billion for 1H25, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 3.0%, with Q1 and Q2 growth rates of 2.6% and 3.7% respectively [2] - The net profit for L'Oréal reached €3.783 billion, showing a 1.0% year-on-year increase [2] - The professional hair division led growth with a 6.5% increase, while mass skincare, premium cosmetics, and skin science segments grew by 2.8%, 2.0%, and 3.1% respectively [2] - The Chinese market showed a 3% year-on-year growth in Q2, with skin science and professional hair products performing particularly well [2] Group 3: Procter & Gamble Performance - Procter & Gamble's Q2 sales amounted to $20.889 billion, a 2% year-on-year increase, with net profit rising by 15% to $3.626 billion [3] - The beauty segment saw a slight increase of 0.2% year-on-year, while net profit in this division grew by 4% [3] - The skincare business in China continued to grow, although this was offset by a decline in North America, resulting in flat overall sales for the skincare segment [3] Group 4: Galderma Performance - Galderma reported a net sales figure of $2.448 billion for 1H25, marking a 12.2% year-on-year increase, with Q2 growth at 15.8% [4] - The company raised its full-year sales guidance to 12-14%, up from the previous 10-12% [4] - The injection aesthetics, daily skincare, and skin treatment segments grew by 9.8%, 7.7%, and 26.9% respectively, with botulinum toxin sales increasing by 14.7% [4] - Strong performance was noted in key markets such as Brazil, Canada, and mainland China, particularly in the injection aesthetics business [4]

Core Insights - L'Oréal Group reported a sales revenue of €22.473 billion (approximately ¥186.19 billion) for the first half of 2025, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 3% [1] - The operating profit reached €4.74 billion (approximately ¥39.28 billion), with a year-on-year increase of 3.1% [1] Performance Trends - The growth rate of L'Oréal's performance has slowed down in recent years, with a full-year sales revenue of €43.487 billion (approximately ¥329.43 billion) for 2024, marking a 5.6% increase year-on-year [2] - For the first half of 2024, sales revenue was €22.12 billion, showing a year-on-year growth of 7.5%, while operating profit increased by 8% to €4.599 billion [2] - The company's four major divisions experienced growth in the first half of the year, but with significant variations in growth rates [2] Division Performance - The Professional Products division emerged as a growth engine with a year-on-year increase of 6.5%, achieving sales of €2.55 billion (approximately ¥21.16 billion) [2] - The Consumer Products division reported sales of €8.41 billion (approximately ¥69.78 billion), with a growth of 2.8% [4] - The Luxe division saw a decline of 1.9%, while the Dermatological Beauty division grew by 3.5% [4] Regional Performance - The European market recorded sales of €7.534 billion (approximately ¥62.42 billion), with a year-on-year growth of 3.4% [6] - North America experienced a 2% increase in sales, while Latin America and SAPMENA-SSA achieved double-digit growth rates of 10.3% and 10.4%, respectively [6] - North Asia was the only region to experience negative growth, with a sales decline of 1.1% to €5.393 billion (approximately ¥44.48 billion) [6] Strategic Developments - L'Oréal's CEO highlighted the effectiveness of the company's multi-polar strategy, with emerging markets and a slight rebound in mainland China offsetting the expected slowdown in Europe [7] - The company acquired majority stakes in the American haircare brand Color Wow and the British skincare brand Medik8 to strengthen its position in the dermatological and professional haircare sectors [5] Future Outlook - The CEO expressed optimism for the global beauty market, anticipating continued growth in the upcoming quarters [8]

Group 1 - Laetitia Toupet-Delon has been appointed as the Global Brand President of L'Oréal Paris, effective July 1 [1] - She will succeed Delphine Viguier-Hovasse, who will take on the newly created role of Chief Innovation and Trends Officer [1] - Viguier-Hovasse was the first woman to hold the position of Global Brand President for L'Oréal Paris since her appointment in 2019 [1] Group 2 - Toupet-Delon joined the L'Oréal Group in 1998 and has held various positions, including Global Brand President of La Roche-Posay and Global President of the Skin Care Division [2] - She will oversee the L'Oréal Paris business, which is projected to generate over €6 billion in annual revenue [2] - The L'Oréal Paris brand operates in 150 countries worldwide [2] Group 3 - In Q1 2025, L'Oréal Group reported a revenue growth of 4.4%, reaching €11.73 billion [3]