The Chinese beauty market will stay “slightly negative” in the second half, L’Oreal CEO Nicolas Hieronimus said on Wednesday, after the French company reported slower than expected growth in the second quarter.

L’Oreal reported a 5.3% rise in like-for-like sales on Tuesday, slightly below consensus, with a depressed Chinese market, previously one of the world’s fastest growing, weighing on its growth.

The Chinese market was down between 2% and 3% in the first half, Hieronimus said on a call with analysts, with luxury beauty products down “in high single digits”, while mass market products rose slightly.

The market will remain “slightly negative” into the second half, the CEO said, with no visible improvement in consumer confidence.

There is a “steady increase” in arrivals in the duty-free Chinese island of Hainan, but it remains below expectations, he said.

Still, the company remains “very ambitious” on China in the mid-term, with room to grow its market share, said Hieronmius.

L’Oreal shares were up 1.5% as of 0850 GMT.