The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. reported financial results for the fiscal third quarter ended March 31, 2010 that were sharply higher than the prior-year period. For the third quarter, the Company had net sales of $1.86 billion, a 10% increase compared with $1.70 billion reported in the prior-year period. Excluding the impact of foreign currency translation, net sales increased 5% from a year ago.

The company posted across-the-board sales gains in its geographic regions and major product categories. Strong sales growth came from the company’s international businesses, particularly, travel retail and Asia/Pacific. There were also sales gains in the Americas. These results reflect solid increases from higher-margin product launches and the positive effect of foreign currency translation.

Fabrizio Freda, president and CEO, said performance in the past quarter continued to be of high quality, reflecting strong top-line growth, particularly from international businesses, a streamlined cost structure and improved inventory management.

“Our success is driven by a well-executed strategy and we are very pleased with our accomplishments over the past nine months,” Freda said. “The progress we’ve made illustrates our ability to move the company forward and create value. We are a growth company, with a sharp focus on increasing our top line where we can produce the highest returns, while, at the same time, remaining vigilant in our cost savings and financial discipline, with the goal of increased and sustainable profitability.”

Freda added, “During the quarter, we increased investment spending behind more targeted advertising, merchandising and sampling to enhance competitiveness and accelerate momentum. For the balance of the fiscal year, we plan to continue these investments well above the prior-year period.”

All product categories and geographic regions benefited from company-wide efforts to eliminate non-value adding costs, as well as significant improvement in cost of sales from favorable product mix and enhanced inventory management, resulting in substantial improvements in their operating income.