SAO PAULO, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Brazilian cosmetics maker Natura & Co expects its accounts to improve in the second half of the year after a soft start to 2023, executives said on Tuesday, with a cash boost scheduled from the sale of its Aesop brand and strategic changes.
Natura on Monday posted a net loss of 732 million reais, narrowing its year-ago loss but the company said its still faces "high financial expenses."
It added this would be addressed upon closing its sale of Australian luxury brand Aesop scheduled for the third quarter, having agreed to a $2.53 billion deal in April with French cosmetics group L'Oreal.
"(Natura's leveraging issue) will be solved by Q3," Chief Financial Officer Guilherme Castellan told reporters on Tuesday, adding that the company would address its debt payments in the fourth quarter.
The company also expects to invest in advertising and store restructuring in some countries as part of its operations revamp.
In addition, Natura plans to expand its brand integration program - bringing together Natura and Avon brands under the same sales teams - to Brazil in the coming weeks.
"(We will start integration) in other countries in 2024," Natura's CEO in Latin America, Joao Paulo Ferreira, said. (Reporting by Carolina Pulice in Mexico City Editing by Matthew Lewis)
