Brazilian beauty giant Natura scraps earnings targets as losses mount
11:11 pm Wednesday, November 09th, 2022
(Reuters) -Brazilian cosmetics maker Natura & Co Holding SA on Wednesday posted a third straight quarterly loss and said it was scrapping previously given financial targets as it deepens its restructuring efforts.
Hit hard by slumping consumer demand globally as high inflation bites, the owner of the Natura, Avon, Aesop and the Body Shop brands logged a net loss of 559.8 million reais ($108 million) in the quarter ended September.
That compares with a 272.9 million reais profit in the same period a year earlier.
Net revenues dropped 6% to 9 billion reais but were up 2.2% in constant currency terms. Even in constant currency terms, however, its Body Shop sales tumbled 20% and its Avon International sales also fell.
Core earnings slid 38% to 589.5 million reais.
Natura, which saw new Chief Executive Fabio Barbosa take the helm in June, has been reviewing its business model and presence in underperforming markets. It has also flagged a possible U.S. initial public offering or spin-off of the luxury Aesop brand.
Barbosa said in a statement the results were in line with expectations that the company had given last quarter and its reorganisation efforts were proceeding well.
The company’s shares have fallen 48% for the year to date.
($1 = 5.1864 reais)
(Reporting by Carolina Pulice and Peter Frontini; Editing by Christian Plumb, Sarah Morland and Edwina Gibbs)
