Thursday, Helen of Troy Limited (HELE), a marketer of brand-name personal care and household consumer products, reported a surge in first quarter earnings in the absence of gains and charges recorded in the year-ago quarter. Excluding items, earnings increased 11% and topped analysts' estimates, despite a marginal decline in sales.
Net income for the quarter surged 161% to $14.51 million or $0.47 per share from $5.56 million or $0.18 per share in the corresponding period last year.
Excluding items, net earnings for the quarter increased 11.2% to $14.51 million from $13.04 million in the corresponding period last year. Adjusted earnings per share increased to $0.47 from $0.42 per share in the year-ago quarter and came above $0.35 per share projected by three analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Results for the prior-year period were impacted by primarily by impairment charges of $7.6 million and a bad debt charge of $2.52 million.
Quarterly sales declined 0.8% to $143.87 million from $145 million in the corresponding period last year. Two Street analysts expected the company to report sales of $148.98 million for the quarter.
Housewares Segment sales increased 11% to $42.7 million from $38.5 million for the same period last year. Sales in the Personal Care segment declined 5% to $101.2 million from $106.5 million in the year-ago quarter reflecting the continuing difficult retail environment and the negative impact of foreign currency fluctuations.
HELE is currently up $1.07 or 5.92% and trades at $19.15.
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