Helen of Troy Limited reported fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year revenue gains versus the year-earlier results.
Helen of Troy also announced Noel Geoffroy will join Helen of Troy as COO on May 9, 2022. Geoffroy joins Helen of Troy with more than 25 years of experience in president and general manager roles for companies including Sanofi in Consumer Healthcare, Kellogg, H. J. Heinz, and Procter & Gamble.
Helen of Troy posted consolidated net sales revenue of $582.0 million in its fourth quarter, an increase of 14.3% from fiscal 2021 and an increase of 31.6% from fiscal 2020. Core net sales increased 17.2% versus 2021 and 37.1% versus fiscal 2020.
For its full fiscal year, Helen of Troy reported consolidated net sales revenue of $2.22 billion, an increase of 5.9% from fiscal 2021 and an increase of 30.2% from fiscal 2020. Core business net sales grew 8.4% from fiscal 2021 35.5% from fiscal 2020.
The company, during its fourth quarter, changed the names of two of its segments to align with the growth in certain product offerings and brands. The previously named “Housewares” segment was changed to “Home & Outdoor,” and the previously named “Health & Home” segment was changed to “Health & Wellness.” There were no changes to the products or brands included within the segments as part of these name changes.
Home & Outdoor net sales revenue increased $48.4 million, or 29.8%, to $210.8 million, compared to $162.5 million a year earlier. The company said growth was driven by an increase from organic business of $24.7 million, or 15.2%, and growth from the acquisition of Osprey of $24.4 million, or 15.0%. Gains by the organic business increase were credited by the company to higher brick and mortar and online channel sales driven by strong consumer demand, accelerated retailer orders to improve inventory levels and in anticipation of price increases, higher sales in the club and closeout channels, the impact of customer price increases related to rising freight and product costs, growth in international sales, and the favorable comparative impact of COVID-19 reduced store traffic and orders that were not able to be shipped at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 due to Winter Storm Uri.
Operating income by Home & Outdoor increased 39.7% to $22.6 million, compared to $16.2 million a year earlier.
Health & Wellness net sales revenue decreased by $1.0 million to $227.6 million, compared to $228.6 million. The company attributed the decline to a decrease in organic business of $0.4 million because of a decrease in sales of thermometers and air filtration products against stronger COVID-19 driven demand for healthcare and healthy living products in the comparative prior-year period. These factors were partially offset by an increase in sales of fans, higher humidification product sales due to the COVID-19 Omicron variant surge, and the impact of customer price increases related to rising freight and product costs, Helen of Troy reported. Operating income in the quarter by Health & Wellness was $9.6 million compared to an operating loss of $1.7 million
Net sales revenue from Beauty Core business increased $37.3 million, or 31.5%, reflecting higher brick and mortar and online channel sales driven by strong consumer demand and accelerated retailer orders to improve inventory levels and in anticipation of price increases, an increase in closeout channel sales, new product introductions, higher international sales. Total Beauty segment net sales revenue for the quarter increased by $25.3 million, or 21.4%, to $143.6 million, compared to $118.3 million primarily due to Core business growth partially offset by the sale of the Non-Core North America Personal Care business during the second quarter of fiscal 2022.
Operating income by Beauty was $18.2 million, compared to $10.0 million, or 8.5% of segment net sales revenue.
Helen of Troy’s corporate fourth-quarter GAAP EPS came in $1.64 compared to $0.90 for the same period last year and a loss of $0.13 in fiscal 2020
Full-year GAP diluted EPS registered $9.17, compared to $10.08 for the same period last year and $6.02 in fiscal 2020
Julien Mininberg, Helen of Troy CEO said, “Our fourth-quarter results significantly outperformed our expectations in each business segment, delivering an exceptionally strong finish to our fiscal year. We are very proud that fiscal 2022 marks another year of top and bottom-line growth well ahead of our Phase II targets, despite the global pandemic, supply chain disruption, inflation, the EPA matter, and the elevated base.”
During fiscal 2022, Helen of Troy was in discussions with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding the compliance of packaging claims on certain air and water filtration products and some humidifier products within the Health & Wellness segment that are sold in the United States. The EPA approved modest changes to labeling claims on packaging of the air and water filtration impacted products, which the Company implemented, and subsequently resumed shipping during fiscal 2022.
Mininberg added, “We expect our recent acquisitions of Osprey and Curlsmith will drive revenue and adjusted EPS growth and further expand margins. Our outlook includes our current assessment of the impact of continued widespread inflation on input costs and consumer buying power, further supply chain disruption, and expected rising interest rates. Our outlook also reflects the work we have done with our supply chain partners, cost mitigation measures, pre-negotiated sea freight contracts, and price increases.”
Helen of Troy noted that on March 30, 2022, a third-party facility the company utilizes for inventory storage incurred severe damage from a weather-related incident. Company inventory stored at this facility primarily relates to the Health & Wellness and Beauty segments. While the inventory is insured, some seasonal inventory and inventory designated for specific customer promotions is currently not accessible, and as a result, may unfavorably impact the Company’s net sales revenue in the first half of fiscal 2023, the company said.
