Executive Summary

• French cosmetics group L’Oréal reported 1H16 revenue of €12,895 million, up 0.6% year over year and marginally below the consensus estimate of €12,958 million. At constant exchange rates, revenue climbed 4.5%.
• A bolstering of gross margins was partially offset by higher SG&A, in part due to a 9% jump in research and development costs.
• Diluted EPS, excluding nonrecurring items, came in at €3.59, beating consensus of €3.57.
• The company noted the difficulties of the French market.