Lower sales in hair appliances and prestige hair care products combined with lower replenishment of home and outdoor items to impact Helen of Troy results in its first quarter.
Helen of Troy develops and markets personal care appliances, home environment appliances, housewares, beverageware and outdoor gear under such brands as Revlon, Honeywell, Pur, Braun, Vicks, Oxo, Hydro Flask and Osprey.
Net income was $6.2 million, or 26 cents per diluted share, versus $22.6 million, or 94 cents per diluted share, in the year-previous quarter. Adjusted for one-time events, net income was $23.3 million, or 99 cents per diluted share, versus $46.7 million, or $1.94 per diluted share, in the year-before period, the company stated.
Helen of Troy missed a Zacks Investment Research analyst consensus estimate of $1.59 in the quarter as well as a revenue estimate, this by 6.59%.
Revenue was $416.9 million versus $474.7 million in the first quarter of the year prior. Operating income was $30.8 million as compared to $40.6 million in the year-earlier period while adjusted operating income was $43 million versus $66.2 million, the company reported.
Revenue in the Home & Outdoor segment was $198.5 million versus $217.1 million in 2023 quarter, while operating income was $15.9 million versus $22.1 million and adjusted operating income was $21.1 million versus $34.3 million.
Revenue in the Beauty & Wellness segment was $218.4 million versus $257.5 million in the 2023 quarter while operating income was $14.9 million versus $18.5 million and adjusted operating income $21.9 million versus $31.9 million.
In announcing the financial results, Helen of Troy CEO Noel Geoffroy, said, “We are disappointed with the start to our fiscal year. We battled an unusual number of internal and external challenges in the quarter, which resulted in net sales and adjusted EPS below our outlook. Many of these challenges became more pronounced toward the end of the first quarter and some continue to evolve. We now see this fiscal year as a time to take action to reset and revitalize our business. As a result, we are lowering our annual outlook, which delays the delivery of the long-term financial algorithm in our strategic plan.”
Despite the challenges faced by Helen of Troy, including startup issues at its Tennessee distribution facility, Geoffroy added, “I remain confident the strategies we are implementing are the right ones to improve the long-term health of our brands, return our company to positive sales and earnings growth, and deliver sustained shareholder value creation. ‘Project Pegasus’ continues to provide us with fuel to fund our initiatives and organizational focus to capture opportunities and leverage our scale. We also invested in new talent and next-level data, analytics and capabilities to improve our effectiveness and productivity across the enterprise.”
