Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA) posted its latest quarterly earnings results late yesterday, yielding mixed results.
The beauty stores chain’s net income gained 19.5% year-over-year to $104.6 million, compared to the $87.6 million it brought in during the third quarter of fiscal 2016. On a per-share basis, the company’s adjusted income gained 21.4% to $1.70 from $1.40 a year ago.
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma took a toll on Ulta Beauty’s business, but its net sales still improved 18.6% year-over-year to $1.34 billion from $1.31 billion a year ago. The company predicted that Hurricanes Harvey and Irma resulted in roughly $14 million in lost sales.
Comparable sales were also better year-over-year by 10.3%, while Ulta also recorded a 6.0% transaction growth, as well as a 4.3% increase in average ticket price. Its e-commerce sales rose 63% to $120 million.
Nevertheless, the company’s stock still took a hit late in the afternoon as its gross margin fell 110 bps to 36.7% off a lower merchandise margin. Tax rate fell to 34.8% in the first nine months of the fiscal year from 37.5% in the first nine months of fiscal 2016.
Ulta also updated its guidance for its fourth quarter, which sees its comparable sales increasing 10% to 11%. Revenue is slated to be in the range of $1.926 billion to $1.959 billion compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion.
Earnings are slated to be between $2.73 and $2.74 per share, below the Wall Street guidance of $2.84 per share.
ULTA shares fell 5.9% after the bell Thursday.