Inside an Ulta store in New York.
Scott Mlyn | CNBC
Ulta Beauty said Thursday that fourth-quarter sales and profits fell from a year earlier, hurt by weaker cosmetic sales during the pandemic.
While the decline was smaller than expected, stocks fell as the beauty retailer gave a disappointing outlook for next year. Ulta shares fell more than 8% after the bell.
The company also announced that its CEO Mary Dillon will step down in June and be replaced by President Dave Kimbell.
Dillon will also pass to the executive chairman of the company’s board.
Kecia Steelman, head of store operations at Ulta, will be promoted to head of operations.
This is what the company reported during its fourth quarter, compared to what Wall Street analysts expected, through a Refinitiv survey:
- Earnings per share: $ 3.41, adjusted for projected $ 2.35
- Revenue: $ 2.2 billion versus projected $ 2.08 million
“The Ulta Beauty team performed better than expected for the fourth quarter. The strong execution of our company-wide plans, combined with the improvement in consumer demand trends, gave as a result solid results in several metrics, including sales, transactions and profitability, “Dillon said in a press release.
Ulta reported fourth-quarter net tax profit of $ 171.5 million, or $ 3.03 per share, compared to $ 222.7 million, or $ 3.89 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding the articles, Ulta earned $ 3.41 per share, surpassing the $ 2.35 per share expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
Net sales fell to $ 2.2 billion from 2.331 billion years ago, exceeding expectations of $ 2.08 million.
Sales in stores open for at least 14 months fell 4.8% in the last period, affected by fewer transactions. The company said transactions decreased 12.2%, but the average purchase per ticket increased 8.3%.
For Prosecutor 2021, Ulta expects to earn between $ 8.85 and $ 9.30 per share in revenue of $ 7.2 billion to $ 7.3 billion. The earnings forecast includes the impact of a $ 850 million share repurchase.
Analysts expected Ulta to earn $ 10.61 per share with revenue of $ 7.32 billion, according to Refinitiv.
Sales at the same store are expected to range between 15% and 17%, the company said.
Ulta plans to open 40 new clean stores and remodel about 21 stores next year.
In November, Ulta announced plans to open small cosmetics stores in hundreds of Target stores across the country in order to achieve higher sales and expand its reach.
The closure of temporary stores during the pandemic has affected the cosmetics retailer. After reopening stores in July, the company saw its demand return with a strong return to its mobile app and e-commerce website.
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