Good evening, and thank you for joining us this evening as we discuss our sales update for the full year and Q4 that ended on December 31, 2024. Today, we have with us our Chairman and CEO, Marc Puig, and our CFO, Joan Albiol. Marc will share some brief remarks, and then we will open up the line for Q&A. You will find this presentation and the press release on our website, and you will be able to access a replay of this recording shortly, also on our website. As a reminder, this is a sales update only, and Puig will report the FY 2024 financial update and outlook on February 27th after the market closes.
Good evening, everyone. Before we dive into the sales update, 2024 was a historic year for Puig, in which we celebrated our 110th anniversary and became a publicly listed company. Once again, we delivered record sales, driven by the exceptional performance of our core fragrance business and our core geographies, EMEA and the Americas. We also continued developing our makeup and skincare segments, achieving meaningful milestones such as the acquisition of Dr. Barbara Sturm and the extension of our partnership agreement with Charlotte Tilbury till 2031. The desirability of our brands and the strength of our geographic footprint have enabled us to outperform the premium beauty market, as well as our midterm revenue growth guidance. With that, let's turn to the details of the update.
We have delivered a strong performance for the FY 2024, driven by exceptional growth in our fragrance and fashion business, which has resulted in record net revenue of EUR 4.8 billion. This represents double-digit growth, the 10.9% like-for-like growth, and the 11.3% increase on a reported basis, ahead of our high single-digit like-for-like growth medium-term revenue guidance provided at IPO, and well ahead of the premium beauty market. This was due to a further acceleration in Q4 versus the prior nine months, with 14.1% like-for-like growth in net revenue and 14.3% on a reported basis. In our Q4, Puig delivered record sales of EUR 1.36 billion. In light of this strong performance, we are confident that our results for the FY 2024 will be in line with our overall midterm guidance.
We'll share the details of the FY results on the February 27th and address our midterm guidance then. Turning to the drivers of this performance, the € 4.8 billion of net revenues were a result of 10.9% like-for-like growth, 1.2% from the acquisition of Dr. Barbara Sturm, and a negative 0.8% impact from foreign exchange. The key driver was the exceptional performance from our core business, fragrance and fashion, in both EMEA and the Americas. With double-digit growth in this segment, we continued gaining market share in our core business. Our like-for-like growth benefited from a positive impact of 1.1% due to the hyperinflation adjustment of the Argentine peso, as anticipated. In 2023, we had a negative impact, whereas in 2024, we had a positive impact, which has therefore resulted in a favorable comparison.
The strong growth in fragrance was partially offset by the low single-digit percentage negative performance for the year in the makeup category. This was a result of specific sell-in/sell-out dynamics, which slowed the segment over the course of the year and the voluntary withdrawal of the Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray, as we have previously disclosed. Further, we saw incremental organic growth from our skincare segment, in addition to the contribution from Dr. Barbara Sturm. If we have a look at the evolution of growth of this year, we saw a clear acceleration in Q4 versus the first three quarters of 2024. This last quarter, we delivered 14.1% like-for-like growth. The change of perimeter contributed an additional 1% increase, partially offset by a negative foreign exchange impact of minus 0.9%, resulting in reported growth of 14.3%.
The hyperinflation adjustment due to Argentina resulted in a 4% favorable uplift to the like-for-like growth for the quarter. Let me share some more color on the performance of each of our business segments. The fragrance and fashion segment continued its strong momentum in the Q4, with revenues up + 21%, driven by EMEA and the Americas. Excluding the impact of the hyperinflation adjustment due to Argentina, growth for this segment was 15.3%. Prestige continued to drive double-digit growth. This was complemented by double-digit growth across all of the niche fragrance brands as well. We were pleased to see the successful acceleration of Byredo, which further led growth within niche. For the FY 2024, fragrance and fashion, which remains our largest business segment, generated net revenue of EUR 3,538 million, representing 73% of Puig's net revenue.
This is an increase of + 13.6% on a reported and constant perimeter basis versus 2023. Among the 2024 highlights, Jean Paul Gaultier, Puig's fastest-growing brand, completed an outstanding year. In 2024, it entered the top 10 fragrance line rankings for the first time in its history, while it is estimated that Le Male has become the number three masculine fragrance line worldwide. Good Girl, Carolina Herrera had a consistently strong performance throughout the year, and we estimate that it has maintained its status as the second feminine fragrance line worldwide, and we are delighted to see that Good Girl, for the first time, has achieved the significant milestone of becoming the number one feminine fragrance line in the U.S. Niche brands continued to show compelling growth, with particularly strong performances from Penhaligon's, L'Artisan Parfumeur, and Dries Van Noten, which showed double-digit growth over the course of the year.
Our fashion business, which remains a lighthouse of creativity for our brands, continued to perform well, while still representing less than 5% of net revenues for 2024. For the FY 2024, the makeup segment represented 16% of Puig's net revenue in the period and recorded net revenue of EUR 763 million. This is a decrease of minus 1.3% on a reported and constant perimeter basis against 2023. Our largest contributor to makeup, Charlotte Tilbury, posted a flat performance in the segment versus 2023. This was the result of several factors, including a tougher comparison with a strong 2023 performance, further impacted by specific sell-in/sell-out dynamics. But in spite of softer net revenue growth, Charlotte Tilbury maintained its number one ranking in the U.K. and achieved a number three ranking among makeup brands for the full year in the U.S., having gained two positions versus 2023.
The brand continued to drive innovation in the category with successful launches such as the Unreal Skin Foundation Stick. The segment was also impacted in 2024 by a weaker performance across some of our smaller makeup offerings. In Q4, makeup revenues fell by 7.2%, affected by the voluntary withdrawal of select batches of Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray in December. This had a mid-single-digit percentage negative impact. Importantly, the situation has been managed, and Charlotte Tilbury has begun reshipping the product to retailers. As anticipated, the segment was also affected by the sell-in pipeline related to the entry of Charlotte Tilbury into Ulta at the end of 2023. In December, Puig also announced the extension of its partnership with Charlotte Tilbury. While makeup performance this year has been muted, we remain excited by the prospects for the Charlotte Tilbury brand for the long term.
Together with Charlotte, we are committed to continue growing this beauty brand. It has been nearly five years since the beginning of our partnership, and we have created significant progress together, including growing the brand to over three times its size at the beginning of our partnership. We have now extended our strategic agreement until the end of 2030. She will continue playing an active role in driving the brand's long-term success and will retain a minority stake. Puig will progressively assume full ownership until the beginning of 2031. For the FY 2024, the skincare segment delivered EUR 516 million in net revenue, representing 11% of Puig's net revenue. This represents an increase of + 19.8% on a reported basis and + 7.4% at constant perimeter against the same period of 2023.
In particular, dermocosmetics continued to perform strongly, with Uriage delivering double-digit organic growth, supplemented by successful launches and hero franchise accelerations. Puig continued its expansion and diversification in the segment with the incorporation of Dr. Barbara Sturm, which reinforces Puig's ultra-premium skincare offerings. In Q4, skincare showed + 1.7% sales growth on a reported basis and + 2.1% at constant perimeter compared to the same period in 2023. As anticipated, the skincare segment faced a tougher comparative base, primarily due to the impact of the pipelining of Charlotte Tilbury into Ulta and meaningful launches in H2 2023, such as Charlotte Tilbury Magic Water Cream. In 2024, the EMEA region achieved net revenue of EUR 2,620 million, up 12.8% reported and +1 1.6% at constant perimeter compared to 2023. This remains Puig's largest region, representing 55% of our net revenue in the full year.
This performance was driven by strength across all business segments. EMEA also represented Puig's largest region in the Q4, up 13.1% on a reported basis and + 12.4% at constant perimeter. The Americas achieved €1,750 million in net revenue for the FY 2024, up 11.1% reported and up + 9.5% at constant perimeter compared to the same period in 2023. The region represented 36% of Puig's net revenue in the period. The Americas also delivered a standout performance in Q4 with + 18.1% reported growth and + 16.1% growth at constant perimeter, fueled by a continued strong momentum in fragrances. As anticipated, we saw two impacts in this region with opposite effects. Reported growth in Q4 benefited significantly from a positive impact of 13.3% due to the hyperinflation adjustment of the Argentine peso. As anticipated, this provided a favorable comparison versus 2023, wherein the impact was negative.
This was offset by the tougher comparable due to the pipelining of Charlotte Tilbury into Ulta in Q4 2023. In APAC, Puig is the smallest region in terms of revenue contribution, representing 10% of net revenue in 2024. Sales increased by +3.7% for the year amid continued market challenges. In Q4, APAC posted strong overall performance with +10.2% reported and constant perimeter growth versus 2023. While China remains subdued, Puig benefited from the newly created subsidiaries in Korea, Japan, and India. Closing remarks. We manage a diversified and curated portfolio of brands, and our first priority is to continue maintaining their desirability for their long-term success. We continue to feel encouraged by our consolidated performance across our complementary brands and segments, which balance different and evolving market dynamics.
Overall, our business has delivered an excellent performance in 2024, led by our performance in our core business with good momentum through the holiday period. Based on our preliminary estimations, the Christmas campaign sell-out for the overall market was healthy, although it represents some moderation in growth versus the rest of 2024. Our brands showed strength through this period with their outperformance. While this year we have had some challenges in makeup, we have also had an outstanding performance in fragrance, and we have seen good growth in skincare. This has allowed us to deliver on our promises, and we remain very confident in our ability to deliver for fiscal year 2024 in line with our midterm guidance.
Thanks, Marc. With that, we come to the end of our prepared remarks, and we will begin Q&A.
The next question comes from Celine Pannuti from JPM. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thank you very much. Good evening, Marc. Good evening, everyone. So my first question is on growth acceleration in fragrances. If you could give us a bit of a flavor of where was that coming from? You also mentioned, Marc, that growth moderated during Christmas. Is it possible to have an understanding of what is your estimate of market growth, maybe in the Q4 versus the rest of the year? And what does that mean in terms of potential weakness or return in the Q2 of 2025? That's my first question. My second question will be on Charlotte makeup. Clearly, you mentioned the issues that were faced in the Q4. Can you talk about the sellout data for Charlotte Tilbury in the U.S. and in Europe, if you have it? And are we now past all those issues of sell-in/sell-out from Q1 of 2025? Thank you.
Thank you, Celine. In terms of, you mentioned group acceleration. It's true that when you see the evolution of the different quarters, we have seen versus between second, third, and Q4 an acceleration. We believe that it's a result of some of the good performance of some of our brands. When we've seen Good Girl, for instance, in the U.S. becoming number one feminine fragrance line for the first time ever in our history, and being Christmas, the most important time of the year, it has helped us accelerate sales for the quarter. You also mentioned whether any expectations for Q2 return, given stock levels in the retailers in the channel. Our projection at this point is that we have adequate stock levels, and so we shouldn't see surprises in that sense.
Regarding makeup, during the Q3 call, we did mention that our scenario was that by the end of the year, we'd have a better gap. We would have closed the gap between sell-in and sell-out, so that the stock levels would be in line, except maybe in some markets in Asia, but they were not as material. The only thing that has happened is, given the challenges we have had with setting spray, we may have a little delay in closing this gap. That's our expectation at this point. I hope I answered your questions.
Can I just ask a follow-up? Yeah, I just want to clarify. Is it possible to have an understanding when you mentioned a bit of the slowdown in Christmas, what it means for the market? Am I right to understand that Puig has really driven more market share gain during that period?
Yeah, when we look at our sense is that we don't have yet the final numbers for the Christmas season. But our understanding at this point is that the market has continued to be strong and healthy, but if anything, there has been a deceleration on the growth rate during the year. Given that in our case, it seems to have gone the other way around, we probably have gained market share. When we have a better understanding, probably in the next weeks, hopefully during the end of February, when we present the results for the year, we'll be able to give a little bit more clarity in what's our position there.
Excellent. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
The next question comes from José Rito from CaixaBank. Please go ahead.
The next question comes from Daphne Leong from Citi. Please go ahead.
Hi, thanks for the presentation, and thank you for taking my question. My first one is a quick follow-up on the inventory level. Marc, I think you mentioned that you see adequate stock level with retailers at this moment. My question is, do you see a potential destocking in the H1 of 2025 if, let's say, the sellout of the fragrances during Christmas wasn't as fast as we would expect? And also, related to that, have you seen how are the performance of the new launches in Rabanne and, I think, Nina Ricci that launched in quarter three? Have you seen much repeat purchase during Christmas or in January post-holiday season? So that's my first question. My second question, just a quick clarification on the Charlotte Tilbury spray product withdrawal.
Is it right from the prepared remark, Marc, that you mentioned that shipping has been back to normal? Sorry, I think I didn't fully capture your remark there. So basically, just could you give us an update on the progress of this withdrawal and the potential headwind we will see in the H1 of 2025? If I can add one more question on the Americas' performance. So if we remove the hyperinflation benefits, we see a 3% constant perimeter growth in Americas. And I think you mentioned in the press release, US was really strong. Could you comment on Latam? I don't know whether you guys quantify the Latin headwind. So just give us a little bit of flavor in terms of, apart from US, how the rest of the markets in America perform in quarter four. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Daphne. I'll try to respond to all the questions. First one, inventory level in the stores. As we said, when we said adequate inventory level, it's because we believe that the sellout was in line with the expectations and that we have ended the campaign with the appropriate, adequate stock level. So there shouldn't be any impact on the H1 due to that. That's our best read at this point. When we mentioned the new launches for Rabanne and Nina Ricci, they have performed according to plan, and we don't see normally, it takes a few months for usage of a fragrance before you start seeing repeat business. So at this point, we cannot have not seen according to plan. That's how we can best assess the evolution of these two launches.
Regarding the setting spray withdrawal at Charlotte Tilbury, yes, we have started to ship normally, which means because the challenges we had, now we know that the products we ship do not have that problem anymore. The only comment is that in some cases, when in some of the U.S. retailers, or you go to Oceania, because it takes some time for the product to reach the point of sale, we may have some weeks of empty shelves before those products reach the point of sale, which is not the case in Europe, and it's not the case closer to where we start shipping. So in that sense, overall, the shipping is back to normal. There may be some delays on filling all the points of sale that have been left without product.
Regarding Americas and Latam, in Latin America, we have seen more commercial competition and aggressiveness than we had expected. We have a very high penetration of our market share. It's the highest that we have in the world. The business has been not as strong in terms of growth than we've seen in the U.S. Overall, we continue having a very strong position in that territory. I hope I answered the different questions. Yeah. Thank you.
Yes, that's helpful. Thank you.
The next question comes from Molly Wylenzek from Jefferies. Please go ahead.
Good evening, everyone. Thanks for taking the question. Can I follow up on the Americas question with the 3% underlying growth, but more from a category perspective? So we understand that makeup and skincare were impacted by the Airbrush launch or pipeline sale last year. Sort of underlying fragrances growth, if you can give us any sort of color, mid-single digit, high-single digit, something like that would be really helpful. Thank you.
Yeah, as you know, thank you, Molly. If I understand well, it's true that given the in the Americas, given the impact that we mentioned we were expecting to have because of the comparison of the Ulta launch in 2023, both makeup and skincare growth has been impacted, which means that most of the growth comes from the fragrance category, which clearly we have had a very strong season. Yes.
The next question comes from Jeff Stent from BNP Paribas Exane. Please go ahead.
Good evening, and I appreciate this question may be a little bit premature because you still have limited data, but you commented on the fragrance category slowing down somewhat over Christmas. I just wondered if you could share any color on why you think that may be the case, what may be changing. Thank you.
We don't have yet, Jeff, the full disclosure of and granularity of the evolution of the sales during Christmas. Clearly, I have seen or we have seen some reports from some of our peers. We still don't have the full picture. It seems that the growth rate that we have been seeing since COVID is somehow slowing down, still in very healthy and attractive rates, but maybe it seems to be slowing down a little bit. In terms of relative growth, maybe slowing. When you see our evolution, we seem to follow the contrary because if anything, we have been accelerating during the year. That's why we have some contradictory information.
But our best guess at this point, without having the hard numbers yet, is that the growth rate may have been slowly diminishing over the year.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you.
The next question comes from Mariano Schachman from Santander. Please go ahead.
Yes, good evening and congratulations on the results. My first question, could you please share more color on Jean Paul Gaultier? I'm particularly interested in the strategy behind the success. If you could share its marketing efforts, its innovation, and then what is the prospect for this brand, given I believe it may be less than half the size of Rabanne or Herrera? And my second question is on the skincare performance. Other than the Ulta and Charlotte Tilbury one-off effects, are you seeing any softening in demand in this category or in any particular brand? Thank you very much.
Yeah, thank you, Mariano.
The evolution of Jean Paul Gaultier is quite interesting because most of this brand has what we call pillars, two pillars, Le Male, Classique, which were lines launched in 1993 and 1995, if I'm not mistaken. It is the ability, we believe, that creates and reinforces the image of this brand, of the values that this brand has been embracing since it was launched in the 1980s, is what has been captured by the imagination of the young people. It's how we have been able to translate this idea of all shapes, all sizes, all sexes that has been embraced by particularly the youth. It's a brand. In our case, we're very proud of our ability to keep the desirability of our brands. Category that is very volatile and can be difficult to predict for one brand or one line.
But when you look at the way we do things, I believe we are good at disrupting, innovating, and the results of the evolution of Jean Paul Gaultier this last year is a proof of that. Second question regarding skincare, our most important presence in skincare is through Derma. Besides Barbara Sturm, which this year we had a transition year, we already said when we bought the brand that there were some distribution that we felt the brand had expanded that might or should have not expanded. So if anything, this year we have been reducing distribution, and so the evolution of the sales are below last year by design, let's say. In terms of Derma, it continues to perform a double-digit growth, and that's what we said in our statement. So it's consistent day in, day out business that is very, in our case, predictable, let's say. Great.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The next question comes from David Da Maia from CIC. Please go ahead.
Hi, good evening. I have a follow-up question on Gaultier. Sorry, I missed your answer. So obviously, it was a 2024 and an outstanding year for the brand. But have you raised your ambitions for this brand, which seems to, as you said, have created a kind of very special connection with the Gen Z consumers, notably thanks to strong presence in social media? So do you think now Gaultier can also become a billionaire brand in the medium term?
Thank you, David. Well, there are some questions that are easier to answer than others. Evidently, we believe that Jean Paul Gaultier will have done many things to make this brand attractive for the Gen Y and particularly the new entrants in the fragrance category, which is the young male consumer.
The question is, is this social media frenzy that we have been able to create continue in the future? Will it stabilize or will it have a negative effect? And the truth is we don't know. We believe that we have the right ingredients for this brand to continue growing. And it has entered the top 10 for the first time. Now we have three brands in the top 10, Gaultier being the smallest of the three, but still the fastest growing. So our expectation is that we'll continue growing, but there is more uncertainty with this type of evolution than what we can have with others. I hope that answered your questions, and I know that this, yeah, it's more, sorry, go ahead.
The next question comes from Joffrey Belliche Meller from BofA Securities. Please go ahead.
Yes. Good evening, Marc. Thank you very much for taking my question. I was wondering, firstly, if you have an explanation as to why your fragrance growth is accelerating through 2024 when you seem to be seeing that the market is somewhat slowing down? It is my first question. Is it linked to maybe increased marketing spend through the H2 of the year? And then the second question is around pricing. Can you remind us how much pricing you took in the fragrance category in 2024? And if you have any views as to what pricing you might take in 2025? Thank you very much.
Yeah, thank you, Joffrey. Maybe the second question will be quicker to answer. Pricing on average for 2024 was about 4% increase.
And going forward, we believe that there were some pressures since COVID because of the increase in materials and ingredients that forced all of us to translate that into pricing. But we believe now that going forward will be in line with inflation. There's no surprises in that regard. Why have we grown faster? I remember when we presented the H1 results, there were some questions because it seemed in the way the marketing spend had been divided in the H1 versus the H2 that our H1 expenses in percentage terms was higher than the overall year. And the answer is we have not spent more in the H2 than what we had planned to do. The reason why we have grown or seems to be we have grown more than others, evidently, is probably that we have gained market share.
And at the end of the day, as I said before, we have a history of being able to capture market share. It's because I do believe it's because of the way we have been able to disrupt, to innovate, to surprise the consumers with what we do. Projecting the success of a fragrance launch, it's not easy because it's like a little bit like I always compare it with the movie industry. It's not easily predictable, but because we have a portfolio of brands, we have a sufficient critical mass, we are able to compensate some flops, let's say, or some successes and failures in a way that as a whole, we believe that we have a way of doing that there's no reason for us to believe that we cannot continue gaining market share. And 2024 seems to have been no difference. I hope that answers your question.
Thanks, Morgan.
Sorry, we have it.
It does.
We have time for last question.
Just a follow-up, maybe.
Okay.
Yeah, just quickly. Is it possible to carve out what would be the drivers of your outperformance if the market continues to slow down in 2025? Do you have any fragrance launches that you want to flag that can help you gain further market share?
Well, we have a pipeline of innovations. And the way we work, we always have more innovations than what we believe the market can or the organization can digest. So we do that in case some of the innovations do not perform as well as we thought, etc., etc. At this point, what we have in the pipeline for 2025 is we feel very comfortable with.
Probably, in order to be more specific, maybe by the end of February, when we present the results for the year, we can be a little bit more specific on our view for that year, for 2025. David, I thought I answered your question, and I think we have time for one last question. That's what they tell me.
The next question comes from Fernando Abril-Martorell from Alantra. Please go ahead.
Hi. Thank you very much for the presentation. Just one quick question. It's about the issue you had with the setting spray. So I don't know if you have experienced in the past similar issues with other products, or was this an isolated incident? Thank you.
Yeah. Yeah, Fernando, no. The answer is no. We have not had issues like this in the past. And we believe this is an isolated case that has been resolved now. So yeah.
Okay.
Okay? Okay. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you. That was our last question. Thank you all for your questions today. We look forward to speaking again when we present our FY 2024 results on February 27th. Thank you very much.