SHANGHAI - L’Oreal, the world’s largest cosmetics company, announced on Tuesday that its sales in China last year soared by 18%, topping 10 billion yuan ($1.59 billion)?for the first time.

Sales of 10.72 billion yuan gave the company double-digit growth for the 11th consecutive year.

"2011 was a remarkable year of strong growth for L’Oreal in China, as we were able to grow much faster than the market once again and expand our market share despite rising competition, largely through successful innovations, development in new market segments and the deepening of distribution and thanks to our offer of a complete and unrivalled brand portfolio to meet diverse beauty needs," said Alexis Perakis-Valat, CEO of L'Oreal China.