Brazilian cosmetics giant and former owner of The Body Shop Natura &Co has posted widening losses as Avon International sales continued to fall in the first quarter of the year.

Avon sign

Avon International experienced another challenging quarter

Natura &Co’s net loss widened 43.3% to BRL934.9m (£143.6m) in the first quarter of the year,  compared to a net loss of BRL652m (£100m) in the same period in 2023.

The cosmetics giant’s net sales fell 5.7% to BRL6.1bn (£937.73m) during the same period, driven by a challenging quarter for Avon.

Avon International sales fell to BRL1.3bn (£214.4m), down 13.1% year on year, “offset by reduced representative activity from fewer available reps and the continuation of weaker promotional execution”.

Natura &Co chief executive Fabio Barbosa said: “Avon International had another challenging quarter with top-line down, impacted by a steep fashion and home decline and a softer impact of CFT categories.

“The management team is working on simplifying the market, focusing on key countries, and enhancing our portfolio with superior promotional execution. We believe these steps are crucial to stabilise revenues and keep us on track to improve profitability.

“We are also continuing to evolve on the studies of a potential separation of Avon and we will keep the market informed as soon as we conclude such studies.”

The results come after the cosmetics multinational offloaded The Body Shop and Aesop last year to focus on its operations in Latin America.