Revlon narrows Q1 loss, North America sales up

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
May 10, 2019

Revlon Inc. on Thursday reported a dip in first-quarter net sales for the three months ending March 31, adding both its namesake and Elizabeth Arden brands saw strong revenue growth as it narrowed net losses.

The New York cosmetics group said net sales decreased 1.3% to $553.2 million in the first quarter, compared to $560.7 million, during the prior-year period. On a constant currency basis, net sales increased $13 million or 2.3%.

Both Revlon and Elizabeth Arden brands witnessed strong sales growth, up 7.9% and 5.4%, respectively, offset by declines in its Portfolio and Fragrances segments, which suffered a respective 12.9% and 15.4% drop, said the group in statement early Thursday morning.

Revlon's CEO, Debra Perelman praised her company's results, particularly in its flagship brand segment, which previously recorded a double-digit sales decline in the fourth quarter 2018.

Domestically, Revlon sales surged 14.6% in the first quarter, while Elizabeth Arden revenues dipped 2.4%. Internationally, Revlon inched forward 1.1% and Elizabeth Arden gained 8.2%.

"We also remain encouraged by the positive consumer response to our first half 2019 new product introductions," added Perelman.

"Our strategic focus areas of e-commerce, Elizabeth Arden skincare, China and Travel Retail continued to perform exceedingly well, and as a result of improved operational performance, we achieved our third consecutive quarter of year-over-year Adjusted EBITDA growth."

Adjusted EBITDA was $38.8 million, compared to $4.2 million last year.

Net loss was $75.1 million in the first quarter, narrowing from a $90.3 million net loss in the prior year-period. Revlon attributed lower operating losses for the making for the 16.8% improvement.

Revlon shares were up over 4 percent in extended trading.