Earnings In Brief
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Alberto Culver: Firm attributes impressive first quarter of fiscal 2008 in part to double-digit sales growth for TRESemmé in all markets, including new regions Mexico, Latin America and South Africa. Net sales for the first quarter came in at $400.7 mil., up 14.1% compared with the prior-year period, according to Jan. 28 statement. Nexxus also posted solid S&E growth; Alberto-Culver will enhance the Nexxus marketing and product mix in the U.S. and consider launching the brand in new markets, President and CEO V. James Marino said during Jan. 28 earnings call. Alberto VO5 sales increased in the low single digits overseas and were flat in the U.S., with growth in company's opening price point business offset by discontinued products, exec said. St. Ives experienced low single-digit sales growth due to uptick in some international markets and the effect of foreign exchange. Firm will launch a new skin-care line, St. Ives Elements, in March. Pre-tax income from continuing operations reached $43.5 mil., versus a loss of $1.3 mil. in the same period a year ago. Company notes that it incurred costs of $4.8 mil. related to reorganization following its separation from Sally Beauty Holdings and the Oct. 29, 2007 closure of its manufacturing facility in Toronto, Canada (1"The Rose Sheet" Jan. 21, 2008, p. 7)...