Helen Of Troy Reports Slight Sales Rise In Q1

Helen Of Troy's Hydro Flask water bottles.

For its first quarter, Helen of Troy reported a slight net sales rise led by the company's housewares, health and home divisions, although the beauty division continued to decline. 

For the first quarter ending May 31, 2016, Helen of Troy Limited reported a net sales revenue increase of 0.8% to $347.9 million for its first quarter fiscal year 2017 compared to $345.3 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2016.

The company reported a slight net income decline to $19 million, compared to $20.4 million in the same period last year.

The company’s health and home segment net sales rose 2.3% driven by strong sell-in of seasonal fans and year-over-year gains in the thermometer and air purification categories. This was partially offset by declines in the hot/cold therapy category due to planned rationalization of lower margin products and programs, and a decline in water filtration due to the discontinuation of a large seasonal promotion program in the club channel and a slowdown in replenishment orders after strong sell-in during the fourth quarter.

Housewares net sales increased by 29.8% driven by net sales growth of 22% from Hydro Flask, which was acquired earlier this year, and 7.8% of core business net sales revenue growth primarily due to new product introductions.

Beauty net sales decreased 17%, which includes the negative impact of approximately 1.4% from foreign currency fluctuations. Gains from new product introductions were offset by the anticipated decline in the foot care category due to competitive pressures and high inventory in the channel, as well as inventory adjustments by a few key retailers following strong shipments in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2016, the company said.

Julien Mininberg, chief executive officer, Helen of Troy, said, “Our fiscal year is off to a solid start, with our first quarter results highlighted by increased net sales revenue, expansion in adjusted operating margin, and growth in adjusted earnings per share. These results were driven by solid progress on our key strategic priorities, which brought improvements in our gross profit margin as we benefited from sales mix, SKU rationalization initiatives, the Hydro Flask acquisition and cost savings efforts.”

He added, “Although the retail headwinds and macroeconomic uncertainties have intensified in certain segments of our business, we are pleased to maintain our consolidated full year outlook due to our diversified business model and the benefits from the execution of our multi-year transformation strategy. We expect to continue to invest in our strong portfolio of brands, our operations, and our management talent to deliver strong cash flow and shareholder value in fiscal year 2017.”