On the way to a strong fiscal year result, Ulta Beauty enjoyed several historical first even as it easily beat Wall Street estimates.
Ulta topped a MarketBeat-published analyst consensus earnings estimate of $5.53 and a sales estimate of $2.99 billion.
Comparable sales increased 15.6% in the quarter year over year driven by a 13.6% increase in transactions and a 1.8% increase in average ticket.
Net sales advanced 18.2% to $3.23 billion primarily due to the favorable impact from the continued resilience of the beauty category, retail price increases, and the impact of new brands and product innovation compared to the 2021 fourth quarter, the company stated. Operating income gained 19.2% to $447.6 million.
For the full fiscal year, net income was $1.24 billion, or $24.01 per diluted share, versus $985.8 million, or $17.98 per diluted share, in the year prior, Ulta stated.
Comps increased 15.6% year over year driven by a 10.8% increase in transactions and a 4.3% increase in average ticket.
Net sales advanced 18.3% to $10.21 billion, primarily due to the favorable impact of the continued resilience of the beauty category, retail price increases, the impact of new brands and product innovation, increased social occasions, and fewer COVID-19 limitations compared to fiscal 2021, the company maintained. Operating income increased 26.3% to $1.64 billion.
“Ulta Beauty’s strong fourth-quarter results punctuate an exceptional year with record sales, profitability and member growth, reflecting robust demand and best-in-class execution,” said Dave Kimbell, Ulta CEO in announcing the financial results. “For the first time in our 33-year history, Ulta Beauty’s annual revenue surpassed $10 billion, our annual net income exceeded $1 billion and we exceeded 40 million Ultamate Rewards members. These milestone achievements demonstrate the power of Ulta Beauty’s highly differentiated model, the health of the growing beauty category and our winning culture and outstanding teams.”
