Ulta Beauty posts strong holiday quarter results, exceeds Wall Street expectations; details here

Ulta Beauty exceeded Wall Street’s expectations with its earnings in the holiday quarter, going above $10 billion in revenue for the first time in its history. The company earned $6.68 per share against the $5.68 estimated by Refinitiv. Ulta’s revenue also went beyond expectations of $3.03 billion, reaching $3.23 billion. The net income of the beauty retailer rose 17.8 per cent to $340.8 million. Furthermore, Ulta Beauty’s net sales jumped 18.2 per cent to $3.2 billion from $2.7 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021. The company has benefitted from people making place in their tight budgets for beauty products even as inflation continues to make necessities more expensive, as its earnings report revealed on Thursday. According to StreetAccount, same-store sales increased 15.6 per cent in the fourth quarter, slower growth than the 21.4 per cent rise Ulta posted in the same quarter the previous year, but well above analysts’ estimates of 8.4 per cent. Gross profit as percentage of net sales stayed flat in comparison to the year-ago quarter partly due to higher inventory shrink offsetting factors like favourable channel mix shifts, leverage of fixed costs, and strong growth in other revenue. Ulta Beauty CEO Dave Kimbell told Businesswire that the retailer’s “strong fourth quarter results punctuate an exceptional year with record sales, profitability, and member growth, reflecting robust demand and best-in-class execution.” He added that skincare, makeup, hair care, and fragrance products all saw double-digit growth in the holiday quarter. The wellness segment of the beauty retailer also saw an increase as the pandemic as renewed focus on self-care. Ulta Beauty is expecting its full-year revenue for 2023 to range between $10.95 billion and $11.05 billion and earnings per share to be between $24.70 and $25.40. According to Refinitiv, Wall Street anticipates the retailer’s 2023 revenue as $10.74 billion and earnings per share as $24.25. Ulta expects the majority of its growth to occur during the first half of the year and level off in the last few months. Kimbell said the company is planning to decelerate the level of its price hikes. Ulta Beauty is also working towards expanding its reach. The company opened 12 new stores in the fourth quarter and is aiming for 25-30 new locations in 2023. Its ultimate goal is to open around 100 new stores in the next two years, Kimbell told CNBC. He is also hopeful of the company expanding its presence on e-commerce platforms. The company is also looking to broaden its partnership with Target to open more shop-in-shops. Ulta Beauty plans to raise the number of shop-in-shops with Target from 350 to 450. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.