The Estee Lauder Companies swung to a loss last fiscal year as sales plunged in a volatile environment.

The company’s net sales for the fourth quarter ended June 30 slid 12 per cent to $3.4 billion, extending the 10 per cent decline in the third quarter.

The skin care segment led the decrease with net sales down 17 per cent, primarily driven by the Estee Lauder and La Mer brands. Sales of hair care and makeup dropped 15 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively, while fragrance saw a 2 per cent uplift led by Le Labo and Jo Malone London.

Sales declined in all geographic regions, primarily due to the declines in the company’s global travel retail business and North America.

For the full year, net sales fell 8 per cent, with skin care down 12 per cent, haircare down 10 per cent, makeup down 6 per cent and fragrance flat.

On the bottom line, fourth-quarter net loss expanded 92 per cent to $546 million. The company swung to a net loss of $1.1 billion for the full year from net income of $390 million in the prior year.

Stephane de La Faverie, president and CEO of The Estee Lauder Companies, said the annual results were in line with expectations.

“Despite continued volatility in the external environment, we embarked on fiscal 2026 with signs of momentum and confidence in our outlook to deliver organic sales growth this year after three years of declines and to begin rebuilding operating profitability in pursuit of a solid double-digit adjusted operating margin over the next few years,” he added.

Estee Lauder expects reported net sales to increase 2-5 per cent and organic net sales to be flat to up 3 per cent this fiscal year.