Japanese cosmetic group Kao Corporation announced its financial results for H1 2024, with net sales increasing by 6.7% to 778 billion Japanese yen ($2.6 billion). Operating profit surged by 123.7% to 57.9 billion yen ($395 million), and net profit soared by 152.8% to 44.8 billion ($305 million) yen. By segment, sales in the health and beauty care division rose by 5% to 188.8 billion ($1.3 billion) yen, while sales in the hygiene and home care division increased by 2% to 245.7 billion ($1.7 billion) yen. The cosmetics division saw a 2% decline in sales to 115.8 billion ($755 million) yen, with Curel experiencing a drop in sales in the Chinese market. By region, the Asian market (excluding Japan) fell by 9.3% to 111.1 billion ($755 million) yen, the only region to report a decline in sales. Sales in the Japanese market grew by 3.9% to 382.5 billion yen ($2.6 billion), and the Americas market saw an increase of 5.1% to 72 billion ($485 million) yen.