PARIS (Reuters) - Shares in L'Oreal rose more than 4% % in early Friday trading after the French cosmetics giant reported a 9.4% rise in first quarter sales on a like-for-like basis on Thursday evening, beating expectations of 6.1% growth.

By 0703 GMT, L'Oreal shares were gaining 4.7% at 443.800 euros. As of Thursday's close the shares were down 6% so far this year.

"L'Oreal delivered a strong beat with 9.4% Q1 sales," Bernstein analysts wrote in a note to investors, adding: "L'Oreal is able to move A&P around the world, across categories and demographics, thereby not only optimising its global growth, but also making that organic growth a lot more resilient"

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, editing by Inti Landauro)