UPDATE 1-M.A.C brand owner Estee Lauder posts surprise revenue growth

Adds background, details from press release

Feb 5 (Reuters) - Estee Lauder Cos Inc EL.N on Friday reported a surprise rise in second-quarter sales, as the M.A.C brand owner benefited from a strong demand for its premium skin-care products in China.

A sustained strong demand for skin-care products, including serums and moisturizers, from customers keeping up their self-care routine has helped Estee Lauder and its peers cushion the impact from weak demand for traditional make-up items such as foundation and lipsticks.

Sales in its Asia/Pacific market rose 35% in the second quarter, helping the company post its first growth in revenue since the onset of the pandemic.

Estee Lauder also said it planned to resume its share buyback program during the second half of the fiscal year.

Net sales rose to $4.85 billion from $4.62 billion a year earlier, beating expectations of $4.49 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

The company forecast third-quarter net sales to grow between 13% and 14%, while analysts on average estimate net sales to rise about 15.3% to $3.86 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Aditi Sebastian and Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)

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