HONG KONG (Yosefardi) – L’Occitane International S.A. booked net profit of 122.7 million Euro in the financial year ended March 31, 2012, an increase of only 1.3% from the previous financial year.
The consumer giant’s net sales actually grew 14.2% to 1.04 billion Euro, but cost of sales also increased by 19% to 187.9 million Euro. Gross profit did increase 13.2%, but operating costs grew substantially.
Distribution and marketing expenses grew 16.7% and 16.1% respectively in the financial year, resulting in 3.9% growth only for operating profit to 158.28 million euro.
Japan was still the largest market for L’Occitane with 219.45 million of sales, followed by United States, Hong Kong, France, and China.