Coty full-year sales rise as it "successfully" executes growth strategy

Coty, the owner of Kylie Cosmetics and Rimmel London, has reported double-digit sales and profit growth for the full-year ending 30 June 2023.

The group saw like-for-like sales increase 16% or 17% for fourth quarter, ahead of its recently raised guidance of 12-15%.

This concluded a "very strong" year for Coty, with like-for-like sales growth of 12% against its target of 9-10% previously.

Sales were driven by consistent momentum in its prestige and consumer divisions, supported by "strong" global beauty demand across categories, geographies and channels.

The prestige segment led during the quarter, with like-for-like sales up 21% in the fourth quarter and 13% for the full-year.

Prestige fragrance increased over 10% in both Q4 and FY23, driven by growth across Coty's top brands.

Revenues for prestige cosmetics were pressured in the early part of the year by the Chinese lockdowns, but rebounded in the fourth quarter with over 25% like-for-like growth.

New launches and in-market activations behind the group's Lancaster and Philosophy brands resulted in "very positive" results for prestige skincare.

The consumer beauty segment saw like-for-like revenues rise 10% for the fourth quarter and 11% for the full-year, driven by "strong" growth across all categories.

Coty's profits also grew "significantly" in Q4 and FY23. The group delivered fourth quarter reported operating income of £101 million ($129 million), whilst reported operating income more than doubled to £425 million ($543.7 million) for the full-year.

Sue Nabi, CEO of Coty, said: "We are incredibly proud of the focus and agility that we see across the whole Coty organisation as we continue to amplify our strengths, adjust to evolving market conditions, and capture new opportunities, all of which has enabled us to deliver results which are again amongst the best in our competitive set.

"Coty is successfully executing on the strategy we laid out three years ago. We are delivering a best in class medium term growth algorithm, including a mid-20s % EPS CAGR, active deleveraging, and targeted capital returns, as we propel our growth story and strengthen our position as a beauty powerhouse."