Japan's Shiseido says annual profit plunges 73% amid sluggish sales in China (updated)
10/02/2025 06:56
(Adds details from paragraph 3 onwards)
TOKYO, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Japanese cosmetics giant
Shiseido 4911.T said on Monday its full-year profit fell 73%
amid sluggish sales in China.
Shiseido said operating profit was 7.58 billion yen ($49.9
million) in the 12 months to the end of December, compared with
28.13 billion yen the prior year.
A retailer of high-end personal goods, Shiseido is seen as a
barometer for consumer confidence in China, a market the company
and its peers have come to rely on for sales growth.
"China's cosmetics market suffered a prolonged downturn,
weighed down by a decline in consumer spending and rising
household savings amid worsening economic sentiment," the
Japanese company said in a statement.
Shiseido's China sales were down 4.6% year-on-year on a
like-for-like basis, excluding the impacts of foreign exchange
and business transfers, the company said. It forecast a further
sales decline in 2025.
Poor results in China also dragged down interim earnings
reported last week by cosmetics competitors L'Oreal OREP.PA
and Estee Lauder EL.N .
China's once surging economy has been hobbled by a property
crisis, mounting local government debt and rising youth
unemployment. Compounding woes for global luxury goods makers
has been a shift among Chinese consumers toward domestic brands.
Shares in Chinese beauty brand Mao Geping 1318.HK rose 85%
when they debuted on the Hong Kong stock market on December 10,
and have climbed further since.
In November, Shiseido launched a two-year action plan to
restore profitability and focus on its core brands.
Shiseido's shares have sunk 42% over the past 12 months,
compared with a 5.1% gain in the benchmark Nikkei .N225
average during the same period.
($1 = 151.8300 yen)
(Reporting by Rocky Swift; Editing by Tom Hogue and Jamie
Freed)
((rocky.swift@thomsonreuters.com;))