Estée Lauder Sales Take Off From Airports -- WSJ
August 21 2018 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Sharon Terlep
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (August 21, 2018).
Sales at Estée Lauder Cos. jumped in the latest quarter due to
growing demand for high-end skin-care products and increased
business at travel outlets in airports, providing a rare spot of
robust growth in the stagnating consumer-products industry.
The New York-based cosmetics company reported a 12% sales
increase on a constant-currency basis.
Chief Executive Fabrizio Freda said he is confident the company
will maintain sold growth despite looming troubles at department
stores throughout Europe. Estée Lauder has been hit hard by the
decline of U.S. department stores, which have historically
accounted for the bulk of sales.
"Even if there was the same worrying trend in bricks-and-mortar
[in Europe] that we're seeing in the U.S., it would not have
anywhere near the similar impact," as in the U.S. he said.
The company is less dependent on department-store sales in both
Eastern and Western Europe than it is in the U.S., and there is
more room in the region to expand online sales, he said.
House of Fraser, an iconic British department store chain sold
to Sports Direct International PLC earlier this month after
entering a U.K. equivalent of bankruptcy protection, accounts for
roughly 10% of Estée Lauder's sales in the U.K., the company
said.
Mr. Freda said he believes the retailer will avoid an all-out
liquidation like the process under way now at Bon Ton Stores Inc.
in the U.S.
"Some doors will close but not the whole business," he said.
In results for the fiscal fourth quarter ended June 30, the
company said profit fell 19% and net income fell to $186 million,
or 49 cents a share, from $229 million, or 61 cents a share, in the
prior-year period.
Excluding certain items, Estée Lauder reported an adjusted
profit of 61 cents a share compared with 51 cents a year ago. Sales
rose 14% to $3.3 billion for the quarter.
For the current quarter, Estée Lauder expects sales to rise
between 5% and 6% compared with the same period a year ago, with
adjusted earnings of $1.18 to $1.22 a share.
Full-year earnings for 2019 are seen at $4.38 to $4.51 a share
with adjusted earnings of $4.62 to $4.71 a share. Sales are
expected increase 4% to 5%.
Shares of Estée Lauder rose 2.9% to $139.87 in early afternoon
trading Monday in New York.
--Kimberly Chin contributed to this article.
Write to Sharon Terlep at sharon.terlep@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 21, 2018 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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