What happened
Shares of Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ: HELE) climbed 12.7% on Monday after the consumer brand housewares, health, home, and beauty products company announced strong fiscal first-quarter 2019 results.
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More specifically, Helen of Troy’s net sales climbed 9% year over year to $354.7 million, which translated to 32.6% growth in adjusted net income to $1.87 per diluted share. Analysts, on average, were only expecting earnings of $1.46 per share on revenue of $333.8 million.
So what
“We continue to see excellent momentum in the business, which led to a strong performance and a great start to our new fiscal year,” stated Helen of Troy CEO Julien Mininberg. “Our strategic choices and ongoing productivity enhancements from the transformation plan are generating healthy results […].”
Mininberg added that investments in the company’s infrastructure, people, and “Leadership Brands” — that is, its highest-volume highest-margin brands including Braun, Honeywell, PUR, Vicks, OXO, Hydro Flask, and Hot Tools — are paying off nicely, with sales in the latter group up 14.7% during the quarter. Digital initiatives also drove 30% growth in online sales.
Now what
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Looking ahead to the full fiscal year, Helen of Troy reaffirmed its expectation for net sales in the range of $1.485 billion to $1.510 billion, but it also increased its guidance for adjusted earnings from continuing operations to be in the range of $7.45 to $7.70 per share (up from $7.30 to $7.55 previously).
In the end, this was a straightforward beat-and-raise scenario for Helen of Troy, and it should be no surprise to see the market reacting accordingly.
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Steve Symington has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
