The interim results showed that group sales for the period rose by 8 per cent in local currency and by 15 per cent in Euro currency, which was also attributed to problems with new product registrations in the CIS markets.
Euro sales for the quarter amounted to €439.9m, up from €382.5m in the same period last year, when Euro currency income had fallen by 2 per cent for the quarter due to weakened sales and currency translations.
Full year results below expectations
Full year results were also slightly below the company’s expectations, partly due to the weaker than expected performance in the fourth quarter.
The full year results were up 8 per cent in local currencies and rose by 15 per cent in Euro currency to €1.513bn, compared to €1.316bn in 2009, when Euro currency income was stagnant compared to the figure for 2008.
The company is expecting to release its full year report for 2010 on February 16, when details of the company’s performance in the different regions for the fourth quarter will be confirmed.
Strong recovery slows down
Although Oriflame set the pace for a strong recovery at the start of 2010, the gains have slowed for the second half of the year, reflecting another dip in the global economic markets that has hit the retail industries.
In the first half of the year Oriflame benifitted from significant gains in its developing markets, namely Latin America and Asia, however, this performance was counterbalanced by a slower pace of increase in the EMEA market.
The third quarter saw Euro sales increase by a healthy 21 per cent to €336.6m, but projections for currency translations and sales growth for the fourth quarter forced the company to lower its full year forecasts.
“Recent negative currency development in combination with continued investment in top line growth activities leads us to lower the outlook for operating margin for the full year," said CEO Magnus Brännström, at the time.