( dpa ) - French cosmetics giant L'Oreal reported Wednesday evening that it achieved net earnings of 2.66 billion euros (3.85 billion dollars) in 2007, up 28.9 per cent from the year before.
The company said it would boost its dividend by 16.9 per cent, to 1.38 euros per share.
Operating profits, at 2.83 billion euros, were 11.3 per cent up on 2006 figures, company chairman Jean-Paul Agon reported, noting that L'Oreal's sales growth clearly surpassed the worldwide cosmetic market's growth rate.
Sales in 2007 reached 17.1 billion euros, up 8.1 per cent, with sales of products for professional users, such as beauty shops, rising even faster, by 12.5 per cent.
Agon said L'Oreal was "optimistic" aoub its prospects for 2008, with sales growth of 6 to 8 per cent. He described the cosmetics industry as being "extremely resistant" to crises, and the company especially expected strong business in the quickly growing markets of the threshhold countries.