LOreal sales steam ahead at steady pace in first-quarter

Maybelline maker L`Oreal on Tuesday posted higher-than-expected first-quarter sales, powered by growth in the division that makes luxury cosmetics and strong demand in Asian countries like China and India.

The French firm said revenues rose 11.4 percent to 7.6 billion euros ($8.58 billion), up 7.7 percent on a like-for-like basis, that strips out the effect of currency swings and acquisitions.

That beat the 6.6 percent comparable sales growth forecast in an Infront Data poll of analysts for Reuters, and matched the pace of growth notched up in the last three months of 2018.

L`Oreal CEO Jean-Paul Agon said in a statement that the economic environment was "volatile, uncertain and contrasted" but that the group was encouraged by its start to the year. It maintained its goal of outperforming the broader beauty market.

($1 = 0.8859 euros)

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