Net profit jumps 23 per cent as the French beauty major leans on cost control to weather intensifying competition from nimble online brands
L’Oréal India’s FY25 performance shows resilience in a challenging landscape, with sales growing by 5 per cent to Rs 5,979 crore and net profit surging by 23 per cent to Rs 598 crore, according to published figures.
The modest top-line growth—down from a 14 per cent rise the previous year—reflects mounting competition from direct-to-consumer (D2C) beauty brands that are rapidly capturing the attention and wallets of younger consumers.
To counter this, L’Oréal trimmed advertising and promotional expenditure by 3 per cent, reducing spend to Rs 1,663 crore, which helped bolster the bottom line.
India continues to be a strategic priority for L’Oréal. The company has appointed Jacques Lebel as its new country manager and plans to more than double production in India over the coming years, building on a current output of about half a billion units.
L’Oréal’s legacy portfolio in India includes brands such as L’Oréal Paris, Garnier, Maybelline New York, NYX, along with its salons and prestige labels like Lancôme, Kiehl’s, and Yves Saint Laurent.
Despite its premium positioning, L’Oréal holds roughly an 8per cent share of India’s face care segment, while Hindustan Unilever commands over 40 per cent. The company is the market leader in hair colour and has trained more than 3.3 million hairdressers across India.
With India contributing little over 1 per cent to L’Oréal’s global revenue, the firm aims to elevate India into its top 10 markets worldwide.
The beauty and personal care market in India is also expected to scale from its current size of ~$20 billion to $34 billion by 2028—driven by ecommerce adoption, growing discovery reach, and higher aspirational spending.
