L’Occitane has announced its unaudited results for the first six months of financial 2017 (ended September 30, 2016), reporting a net sales increase of 1.3 percent to €551.7 million at constant exchange rates (0.9 reported), an improvement on the last quarter.

The company delivered a strong performance in Japan, with sales up 15.9 percent (reported) thanks to the strength of the yen, Brazil and China – up 20.5 percent and 10.6 percent respectively in local currency terms – offset by a sluggish performance in France (sliding 2.6 percent) and a slowdown in Hong Kong (down 12.4 percent), and the UK (diving 16.3 percent).

Reinold Geiger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of L’Occitane, said, “It is encouraging to see continued growth in many parts of our business, despite the challenges posed by the unseasonable weather, terrorism fears and economic uncertainties. It shows that the investments and marketing efforts we have made to increase brand awareness and in the upgrade of our products are working – as evidenced by the robust growth we are seeing in markets such as Brazil and Russia.

“We will continue to closely monitor the risks posed by the political situations in Europe and the US, while also maximising operational efficiencies to better weather unexpected downturns. That said, the promising feedback we are receiving from the recent launch of our new ‘Divine Harmony’ range is leading us to be optimistic about our financial performance in the second half of the financial year.”