By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) stock traded 2.2% higher in premarket Friday after the beauty retailer beat fourth-quarter estimates.
The company reaped the gains arising out of more people returning to work and spending more on fragrances and skin care. As of January 29, the company operated 1,308 stores, 44 more than a year ago.
Q4 net sales jumped over 24% to $2.7 billion as Covid-19 restrictions eased and consumer confidence returned. Comparable sales were up more than 21% as more people shopped and average ticket size also grew.
Selling, general and administrative expenses were higher by a small margin of 0.4 percentage points to near 24% due to higher pay and incentives, partially offset by leverage in marketing expenses due to higher sales.
“The beauty category is healthy and growing, and we are confident the recovery that began in 2021 will continue, as consumers maintain their self-care routines, become more resilient to Covid surges, and engage in more leisure and social activities,” CEO Dave Kimbell said in a statement.
He listed wage and supply chain cost pressures as challenges in the current year while it attempts to exceed the “exceptional performance” in 2021 when net sales jumped over 40% to $8.6 billion.
The company’s targets for 2022 include at least $9.05 billion in annual sales with an ambitious aim of making it $9.15 billion. Comparable sales are seen up 3-4%.
Four days ago, the company announced a $2 billion share buyback. This replaces the little that was left out of its previous repurchase program of $1.6 billion, the company said.