Ulta Beauty Profits Driven By High-Margin Cosmetic Sales

BOLINGBROOK, United States — Ulta Beauty Inc beat quarterly profit estimates on Thursday, driven by sales of higher-margin cosmetics products, sending the retailer's shares up over 11 percent in extended trading.

The near 30-year-old company has capitalised on booming demand for celebrity-led beauty brands, which are usually priced at a premium, and has attributed cosmetics lines from Kylie Jenner and YouTuber James Charles for driving customers to its stores.

In October, Ulta said it had secured exclusive rights to sell singer Jennifer Lopez's new fragrance, Promise, in the United States.

The company's net income fell to $129.75 million in the third quarter ended November 2 from $131.17 million a year earlier.

On a per share basis, the company earned $2.25 per share, beating analysts' estimates of $2.13 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Ulta said the number of transactions at its stores rose 2.3 percent in the reported quarter, helping it match same-store sales growth estimates of 3.2 percent.

It also narrowed its full-year earnings outlook to a range of $11.93 to $12.03 per share from its previous forecast of $11.86 to $12.06 per share.

Ulta's shares were trading 11.4 percent higher at $259.03 in extended trading. Ulta and Netflix are the top performing S&P 500 components since the start of the bull market in 2009.

By Uday Sampath; editor: Shailesh Kuber.