Executive Summary

• Cosmetics giant L’Oréal saw another robust quarter in 1Q17, reporting comparable sales growth of 4.2%. This was ahead of expectations, but marked a sequential slowing from the prior quarter.
• Unusually strong demand for luxury products, especially in Asia, underpinned growth.
• Comps in the Asia-Pacific region accelerated strongly, to 7.1%, while North America comps came in at 3.8%, a weakening from the previous quarter.