L’Oréal said Thursday, October 22, its third quarter sales rose by double digits. Sales growth was driven by strong demand across all divisions and regions, including China.

The French cosmetics giant, whose brands include Garnier, Lancôme and Maybelline, said its sales came in at 11.6 billion euros (USD 13.0 billion) in the three months to the end of September, handily beating analyst expectations. That is an 11.9-percent increase from the same period last year (+7.2 percent like-for-like), with growth in all divisions, including the luxury unit.

Chief executive Nicolas Hieronimus called L’Oréal’s third quarter performance "exceptional".

"The global beauty market, once again, proved its resilience in a challenging context – and we continued to significantly outpace it," he said.

He reaffirmed his confidence that L’Oréal will manage to increase its sales and profits again this year, but did not provide any figures.

Sales rose in all regions, including in the company’s North Asia region, where revenue rose 14.1% to EUR 2.2 billion. L’Oréal said China had been the key driver, its sales there advancing nearly three times faster than the overall market, notably thanks to its luxury beauty business.

Europe also delivered solid growth, with sales up 13.2% to EUR 4 billion. North America posted a 6% increase to EUR 3.2 billion, while the South Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa region recorded the strongest growth, with sales surging 21% to EUR 1.2 billion.

The Professional Products division (Kérastase, Redken, etc.) continued to benefit from the premiumization of hair care, with third-quarter sales surging 19.1% to EUR 1.5 billion.

The Dermatological Beauty division (La Roche-Posay, Vichy, etc.) also delivered strong growth, with sales rising 15.7% to EUR 1.9 billion.

The Luxe division posted a 12.3% increase in sales to EUR 4.2 billion, driven primarily by fragrances from brands such as Yves Saint Laurent, Lancôme, and Creed.

The Consumer Products division also delivered solid growth, with sales up 7.5% to EUR 4 billion, driven in particular by L’Oréal Paris and NYX Professional Makeup.