Sally Beauty enjoyed a Wall Street beat overall as comparable sales in the retail segment advanced for the fourth quarter.
Adjusted for one-time charges, net earnings were $73.1 million, or 64 cents per diluted share, versus $70.7 million, or 63 cents per diluted share, in the year-past period.
An analyst consensus estimate published by Yahoo Finance called for adjusted earnings per diluted sales of 51 cents, while the sales estimate was $976.5 million.
Net sales were $990.3 million versus $957.8 million in the year-before quarter, Sally Beauty stated. Operating earnings were $111.2 million versus $119.7 million in the year-earlier period.
For the full fiscal year, net earnings were $239.9 million, or $2.10 per diluted share, versus $113.2 million, or 99 cents per diluted share, in the previous year, according to the company.
Adjusted net earnings were $274 million, or $2.40 per diluted share, versus $140.1 million, or $1.22 per share, in the year past.
Net sales were $3.87 billion versus $3.51 billion in the year before. Operating earnings were $418.4 million versus $258.8 million, in the year earlier.
The retail Sally Beauty Supply operational segment posted net sales of $585.4 million, up 1.5% versus the year-prior quarter. Sally Beauty Supply enjoyed a favorable sales impact of 120 basis points from foreign currency translation and operated 104 fewer stores at the end of the quarter compared to the prior year’s finish. E-commerce sales were $29 million or 5% of segment sales for the period. Comparable sales advanced 2.3% in the quarter year over year, the company indicated. The Sally Beauty businesses in the United States and Canada represented 79% of segment net sales for the quarter, the company added and had a comp increase of 1.9% year over year.
At quarter’s end, the net store count was 3,549.
“We are pleased to conclude the year with strong fourth-quarter performance, highlighted by net sales growth of 3.4%, adjusted operating margin of 11.7% and operating cash flow of $164 million,” said Denise Paulonis, Sally Beauty president and CEO, in announcing the financial results. “In fiscal 2021, we successfully executed on our stated priorities to substantially complete the remaining elements of our transformation and leverage our new capabilities and tools in service of our mission to recruit and retain color customers. We rebounded strongly from last year’s pandemic challenges, delivering net sales growth of 10.3% while generating strong profitability and cash flow and reducing our debt levels by over $400 million in fiscal 2021.”
