By Jessica Sier

L'Oreal SA suspended its guidance and postponed its annual general meeting on Monday, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The French beauty company expects first quarter sales to come in 5% lower than a year earlier, though it is seeing "encouraging" signs of recovery in Chinese demand.

L'Oreal has rescheduled its annual general meeting for June 30. The meeting was originally due to take place on April 21.

"The spread of the pandemic to all geographic areas...will have a higher impact than initially forecast on the consumption of cosmetics and beauty products," the company said in a statement.

At a conference in New York City in February, Chief Executive Jean-Paul Agon said the company was confident it could outperform the beauty market and grow its profits in 2020.

Write to Jessica Sier at jessica.sier@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 30, 2020 12:42 ET (16:42 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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