PARIS, Sept 21 ― L'Oreal, the world's biggest cosmetics company, said yesterday that it would pay the French government €320 million (RM1.47 billion) in a settlement with the country's tax authorities.

The French group said the payment, relating to the payment of corporate tax between 2014 and 2018 by several subsidiaries including Lancome Parfums et Beaute, was the result of "constructive discussions with the French tax authorities”. 

It represents less than 10 per cent of its 2018 net profit for 2018 of €3.89 billion.

L'Oreal said the sum would be recorded as an exceptional charge for 2019 and would "have no significant recurrent impact in the future”.

The Lancome brand has been a star of the group's strongly-performing luxury division, which saw sales rise 15.5 per cent in the first half of 2019.

The group as a whole saw sales of €14.8 billion in the six months to July, with like-for-like growth in the period at 7.3 per cent, its highest in more than a decade. ― AFP