May 27--Ulta Beauty's first-quarter earnings, including the steepest sales growth the company has seen in a decade, looked attractive to Wall Street.
The Bolingbrook-based beauty retailer's stock, which has risen nearly 51 percent over the past 12 months, closed at $233.15 on Friday, up 9.1 percent from Thursday's close. Earnings were released after the bell Thursday.
CEO Mary Dillon said growth in sales at stores open at least 14 months and online -- up 15.2 percent compared with the first quarter of 2015 -- was Ulta's highest since 2006.
The growth was fueled by an 11 percent increase in shopper visits and a 4.2 percent uptick in how much they spent on an average trip.
Rapid growth in Ulta's loyalty program membership also helped, Dillon said. Members in the company's Ultamate Rewards program drive 80 percent of Ulta's sales, and there are now 19.4 million of them, she said. That's up 25 percent over last year.
"One of the key drivers of the results that we're seeing is the acceleration in members entering the program," she said on an earnings call.
Ulta's net income for the fourth quarter was $92 million, up 37.4 percent over the same period last year, and earnings per diluted share rose 39.4 percent to $1.45, compared with $1.04 a year earlier. That beat analysts' average forecast of $1.25 to $1.30, according to FactSet.
The company also raised its expectations for overall 2016 sales and earnings, saying it now predicts to hit 10 to 12 percent comparable sales growth, up from its previous estimate of 8 to 10 percent. Ulta now says it expects earnings per share to grow in the low 20 percent range, up from the 18 to 20 percent it forecast previously.
Ulta plans to open 25 new stores in the fourth quarter after opening 13 in the first. Ulta, which has 886 locations, aims to add 100 new stores this year.
lzumbach@tribpub.com
