L’Oreal SA said Thursday that net profit fell in 2020 due to a decline of the beauty market during the pandemic, but growth accelerated in the fourth quarter.
The French cosmetics and consumer-products company reported a net profit after minorities of 3.56 billion euros ($4.31 billion) in the period, compared with EUR3.75 billion the previous year.
Sales for the year were EUR27.99 billion, down from EUR29.87 billion. In the fourth quarter, sales were flat at EUR7.88 billion.
L’Oreal said business suffered from the hit of the coronavirus pandemic, but that the group returned to growth in the second half of the year, with a fourth quarter acceleration at 4.8% on a like-for-like basis.
L’Oreal said it will propose a dividend of EUR4 a share at the next annual general meeting on April 20, a 3.9% increase compared to the dividend paid in 2020.