LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Beauty products maker Estee Lauder hit the high end of expectations on the Street with its latest quarterly profits, leading the New York-based fim to raise its annual earnings forecast thanks to higher demand for its La Mer and Clinique skin care products.
Estee Lauder is now predicting full-year adjusted earnings of around $4.38 to $4.42 per share on adjusted basis, up from its earlier forecast of $4.27 to $4.32 each (FactSet: $4.37).

The company saw net earnings grow 24.8% to $372m, or $0.99 per share, in the third quarter of its trading year as sales rose 18% to $3.37bn, smashing analysts' expectations of roughly $3.25bn, partly driven by improved sales of its products at duty-free stores and an increased share in South Asia and China's skin-care market.

Excluding one-time items, Estee Lauder posted earnings per share of $1.17, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07.

As an aside, the cosmetics company warned on Wednesday that it had "recently learned" that testing carried out and related to "certain product advertisement claims" had failed to meet company's standards.

A spokesman for Estee further clarified that some of its testing used for advertising claim support had been intentionally altered.

That had kicked-off a comprehensive review to understand the changes that needed to be made to the firm's advertising claims.

The company's review was in no way related to the quality or safety of its products.

As of 1345 BST, Estee Lauder shares had lost 0.37% in pre-market to $144.93 each.

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