Once again, Ulta proved that consumers won’t scrimp on certain non-essentials, as the beauty retailer reported a strong fourth quarter.
For the fourth quarter ended January 28, Ulta posted net income of $140.2 million, or $2.24 per diluted share, versus $107.8 million, or $1.69 per diluted share, in the year-prior period. Ulta topped a MarketBeat-published analyst average estimate by a dime.
Comparable sales advanced $16.6% in the quarter, year over year, driven by a 10.9% gain in transactions and 5.7% growth in average ticket. Net sales were $1.58 billion versus $1.27 billion and operation income was $224.2 million versus $169.5 million in the year-previous quarter. E-commerce sales grew 63.4% to $154.9 million in the quarter year over year, representing 380 basis points of the company comp.
For the full fiscal year, Ulta posted net income of $409.8 million, or $6.52 per diluted share, versus $320 million, or $4.98 per diluted share, in the prior year. Comparable sales advanced 15.8% year over year, driven by a 10.7% gain in transactions and 5.1% growth in average ticket.
Net sales were $4.85 billion versus $3.92 billion and operating operating income was $654.8 million versus $506.3 million in the previous year. E-commerce comparable sales grew 56.2% to $345.3 million, Ulta maintained, representing 240 basis points of the company comp.
In the fourth quarter, the retailer opened 25 stores, ending the period with 974 locations.
“The Ulta Beauty team delivered outstanding fourth quarter results, capping an exceptional year of sales and earnings growth while investing to drive market share gains and create sustainable long-term shareholder value,” said Mary Dillon, Ulta CEO. “We are confident in our outlook for continued success in 2017 as we execute our strategy to be a destination for All Things Beauty, All in One Place. Our new brand pipeline is very healthy, and we are particularly excited to announce the addition of the Estée Lauder Cos.’s MAC brand, which will launch on Ulta.com and begin to roll out to stores this spring.”
