Stronger Dollar Weighs On Avon Products In 3Q

MAE ANDERSON

NEW YORK (AP) — Avon Products Inc. said Thursday having 10 percent more people selling its products during the third quarter helped sales, but the stronger dollar hurt its revenue from some markets, and its profit fell 30 percent.

The cosmetics, gift and home products company earned $156.2 million, or 36 cents per share, for the period ended Sept. 30. That's down from $222.6 million, or 52 cents per share, a year earlier.

Avon is in the midst of a restructuring that includes cutting jobs and trimming overhead.

Excluding costs related to those cuts, its profit was 42 cents per share, better than the 40 cents per share analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting. Analysts typically exclude one-time costs such as restructuring.

But Avon's shares fell 4 percent as its North American results remained sluggish.

Avon, which sells brands including Skin-So-Soft and Mark along with its namesake cosmetics, added thousands more sales people in the U.S. and abroad, who are not employees, as workers everywhere seek new sources of income during the recession.