Coty has faced major challenges in its global operations and Coty UK&I’s latest accounts filing shows that its British and Irish business wasn’t immune to that, although it remains a key beauty operator.

The accounts cover the 12 months to the end of June 2025 with turnover falling to £326.3 million from £335.3 million. The gross profit margin dropped to 40.9% from 41.4% and operating profit was down to £7.6 million from £8.6 million while the operating profit margin narrowed to 2.3% from 2.6%. 

But there was better news on profit before tax as it jumped to £9 million from a loss of £53.4 million the year before. Net profit also moved in the right direction, reaching £7.1 million after the £56.8 million loss in the previous year.

Not that this tells the whole story. In the previous year the owner of key brands such as Rimmel London and Cover Girl had swung from a pre-tax profit of £9.9 million to a loss of £53.4 million. But the accounts statement listed a £134.7 million one-off impairment charge for the year. Without that it had seen an increase in both turnover and operating profit.

That wasn’t the case this time on the turnover front as the company said the business “experienced a slowdown in retail demand in the consumer beauty business leading to a 2.7% reduction” in turnover.

And of course, the absence of any impact impairment charges is what was behind the big difference in the profit figure, showing that the business does remain very profitable. The directors also said that they consider the reduced 2.3% operating margin to be “acceptable”.

During the year, Coty maintained its media investment across both consumer beauty and prestige brands, focusing on major celebrations to drive sales. Additionally it invested in enhancing online platforms to further promote sales and strength and digital engagement.

It will be interesting to see what the 2025/26 results show this time next year. As mentioned, the global parent company has been facing challenges and this has led to it reviewing its overall strategy. 

Back in September it said that it had launched a strategic review of its consumer beauty business that could lead to the sale of some brands as it plans to focus on its more profitable fragrances unit.