Puig's sales grow 0.8% while it negotiates merger with Estée Lauder

BarcelonaIn full negotiations with Estée Lauder for a possible integration, Puig Brands, the Catalan fashion and beauty multinational, has announced its first-quarter results for this year, with sales of 1,215 million euros, an increase of 0.8%. The rise is 4.7% at constant perimeter and exchange rates. The company insists that "no definitive decision has been made" with the US firm, with whom talks were confirmed on March 23. It adds that "until an agreement is reached, it cannot be guaranteed that there may be a transaction nor its terms".

will ratify the resignation of the chairman of Banco Sabadell, Josep Oliu,Puig confirms its financial outlook for 2026, with strong segment expansion. The company also anticipates that adjusted operating profit will remain stable, "in line with fiscal year 2025, despite a more challenging cost environment". Puig's shares fell by 0.33% on Tuesday, to 18.32 euros, but have been on an upward trend since the negotiation with Estée Lauder was announced, although they have not yet recovered the 24.50 euros at which they debuted on the stock market on May 3, 2024.

The company will hold a shareholder meeting on May 29, solely by telematic means, in which, among other matters, the resignation of the chairman of Banc Sabadell, Josep Oliu, will be ratified as a proprietary director, among other matters. In any case, the banker, who has been a person of utmost trust for the group in recent years, will continue as chairman of Exea, the Puig family's holding company, to which he has been linked since the 1990s. He has been its chairman since 2007.

Oliu's resignation and Marc Puig's ratification

Oliu's resignation, which different sources claim was voluntary, by mutual agreement, and related to governance issues such as the proportion of male and female directors, occurs seven months before the end of the term. This event takes place during ongoing negotiations with Estée Lauder, also of a family nature, which triples the value of the Catalan company. Julie Van Ongevalle, president of the health company Opella, will occupy Oliu's seat on the board.

At the meeting, shareholders will vote on the re-election of the president, Marc Puig, as executive director, who will continue as president after handing over the CEO position to Albesa; the re-election of independent directors Nicolas Mirzayantz, Daniel Lalonde, Àngels García-Poveda Morera, and Ann Mei; the re-election of directors in the category of "other external" Jordi Constans, Ioannis Oetrides, and Rafael Cerezo; and two new appointments: that of Albesa as a new board member in the CEO category and the replacement for Oliu, Ongevalle.