The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (EL) Thursday reported higher profit for the third quarter reflecting improved revenue primarily from the make-up segment. The firm further raised the earnings expectations for the full-year.
For the quarter net earnings attributable to company stood at $178.8 million, up from $130.4 million last year. On a per share basis earnings totaled $0.45 versus $0.33 last year.
Twenty analysts on average polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings per share of $0.34 for the quarter. Analysts estimates typically exclude one-time items.
Net sales for the period totaled $2.291 billion, up from $2.248 billion reported for the year earlier period. Analysts were looking for revenue of $2.33 billion for the three months. Make-up contributed $919.2 million versus $877 million a year ago.
Looking forward, for the full-year, the company now sees earnings per share of $2.49 to $2.54, up from its prior view of $2.44 to $2.52. Excluding special items, the company now sees earnings per share of $2.56 to $2.61. Analysts on average are expecting earnings per share of $2.59 for the full-year.
The firm further noted that net sales are foretasted to grow approximately 6 percent in constant currency for the full-year.
The firm further declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share on the company's Class A and Class B shares, payable on June 17 to stockholders of record on May 31.
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