By Dave Sebastian

Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. said its profit for the fiscal third quarter as sales grew in every region and in most product categories as the company experienced recovery in several areas.

The cosmetics company on Monday posted net income attributable to the company of $456 million, compared with a loss of $6 million in the year-ago period, when brick-and-mortar operations began to shut down during the Covid-19 pandemic. It reported earnings of $1.24 a share, compared with a loss of 2 cents a share in the same period last year.

Adjusted earnings were $1.62 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting $1.32 a share.

Net sales rose 16% to $3.86 billion. Analysts were looking for $3.94 billion.

The company said it also benefited from online sales, which grew double digits in the Americas and Asia Pacific and doubled in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The company said it saw temporary closures during the quarter in the U.K., Japan, Canada, Italy, Spain, France, Mexico and Brazil due to a resurgence of Covid-19 cases. In stores that were open, consumer traffic remained reduced compared with pre-pandemic levels, the company added.

Estée Lauder said the demand for makeup remains weak due to less makeup use during the pandemic.

Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-03-21 0719ET