In the worse-than-expected results released after the market close, L'Oreal's sales fell by 0.6 per cent in the three months to the end of December, like-for-like, compared with the same period in 2007.

Annual profits also suffered, as net profit of €1.9bn ($2.4bn) was 27 per cent down on 2007. Sales were 3.1 per cent higher on a like-for-like basis at €17.5bn.

Jean-Paul Agon, chief executive, abandoned guidance for 2009, having reduced its long-term sales target to 4 per cent in October from 6-8 per cent in February last year. “Maybe I should not have given a figure last year,” he told the Financial Times, adding: “I said that when the market grows at about 5 per cent a year, we should do a bit more. That is definitely not valid any more when the market is totally unpredictable.”