Helen Of Troy Profit Rises, But Misses Street

(RTTNews) - Personal care products maker Helen of Troy Ltd. (HELE), Thursday reported an increase in profit for the first quarter, as revenues climbed 11 percent and margins improved significantly. However, earnings for the quarter fell short of analysts estimates, while revenues trumped expectations. Moving ahead, the company maintained its financial outlook for the full year.

The El Paso, Texas-based company's first-quarter profit rose to $20.4 million or $0.70 per share from $16.4 million or $0.55 per share last year.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter rose to $1.06 per share from $1.04 per share a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $1.10 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenues for the quarter rose 10.8 percent to $345.3 million from $311.8 million a year ago. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $337.7 million for the quarter.

CEO Julien Mininberg said, "We had a solid first quarter positioning us well to achieve our annual goals. The quarter was highlighted by a double digit increase in revenue and growth in adjusted diluted earnings per share, in line with our expectations, despite a greater-than-expected impact from foreign currency and the West Coast port disruption."

Gross margin for the quarter climbed sharply to 41.5 percent from 38.3 percent last year.

Moving ahead, the company continues to expect adjusted earnings of $5.40 to $5.85 per share on revenues of $1.49 billion to $1.54 billion for the full year 2016. Analysts currently expect earnings of $5.68 per share on revenues of $1.50 billion.

HELE closed Thursday's trading at $97.08, down $0.72 or 0.74%, on the Nasdaq. The stock further dropped $3.34 or 3.44% in after-hours trade.