​Shiseido reports quarterly net income surge

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
May 13, 2016

The first quarter of 2016 saw Japanese cosmetics group Shiseido achieved net income of 27.3 billion yen ($236.44 million), up from 2.5 billion in the same period the previous year. The considerable growth was attributed to one-time gains such as the sale of intellectual property rights of the Jean Paul Gaultier fragrance business and the sale of land at a factory site in Japan.

The company said net sales reached 213.3 billion yen (around $1.85 billion) in the first quarter of 2016, representing a growth of 4.6% compared with the corresponding period of the previous year.

In the period, the personal care company and its subsidiaries changed their account settlement dates, resulting in the first quarter of 2016 ended on March 31 being different to the first quarter of 2015 ended on June 30.

However, adjusted data showed that operating income (EBIT) grew by 75,9% to 22.1 billion yen.

The Japan business delivered a moderately strong growth in sales thanks to successful marketing investments aimed at capturing expanding inbound demand.

The domestic market increased sales by 4.5%, while China delivered a 14.1% growth in local currency terms helped by a steady growth in the e-commerce domain.

Sales also boomed in the Asia Pacific zone. Sales of NARS and personal care brand products grew substantially in South Korea sales of such prestige brands as Shiseido, clé de peau Beauté, and NARS continued to grow mainly in Thailand and Vietnam. In total, the segment accounted for a 9.1% increase on local currency basis.

Meanwhile, the America and Europe segment showed a weaker performance with the Americas rising by 2,3% and the EMEA business falling by 12.7% from the same period the previous year. The company said the segment was substantially impacted by the loss of Jean Paul Gaultier sales.

The Travel Retail Business rose by 50.6% on a local currency basis, attributed to the opening of counters and increase of store personnel, as well as other initiatives at major airport duty-free stores in Asia including China, South Korea, and Thailand.

In the light of its performances, the company raised its net income forecast to 34.5 billion yen ($316.99 million) from 28 billion ($257.27 million).