Sally Beauty Holdings Inc. posted second quarter gains in both profits and sales.
The specialty retailer and distributor of beauty supplies said net income for the three months ended March 31 was up 5.2 percent to $61.5 million, or 39 cents a diluted share, from $58.5 million, or 35 cents, a year ago. Net sales rose 2 percent to $937.8 million from $919.5 million. By segment category, sales in Sally Beauty supply rose 0.4 percent to $572.1 million, while those in the Beauty Systems Group were up 0.5 percent to $365.6 million.
For the six months, net income dipped slightly to $116.4 million, or 73 cents a diluted share, from $116.5 million, or 70 cents, a year ago. Net sales rose 2.3 percent to $1.90 billion from $1.86 billion.
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Christian Brickman, president and chief executive officer, said, “Consolidated same-store sales grew 2.8 percent and gross margin expanded by 20 basis points, resulting in 11 percent year-over-year growth in EPS.”
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Brickman noted that the company’s store refresh initiative “continued to realize positive returns,” and that the Nail Studio is now fully installed in all Sally Beauty U.S. stores. The ceo added, “We have developed a strong list of merchandising and marketing innovations we plan to deploy in both businesses during the coming quarters, and I have full confidence in the team to build on the initial momentum so that we can achieve our objectives for this year and beyond.”
The company on Monday said it began a “comprehensive investigation,” working with a leading third-party forensics expert, to gather facts concerning unusual activity involving the use of credit cards at some Sally Beauty stores in the U.S.
Brickman said during the conference call to Wall Street analysts that during the week of April 27, “we received reports of unusual activity… Although it’s very early in the investigation and difficult to determine the scope and nature of the potential incident, it is our goal to be as transparent as possible throughout the investigation and we intend to provide updates as appropriate.”
The latest incident is the second one in two years for the company. The company confirmed a data breach last year involving customer card data.