Sally Beauty Same-Store Sales Rise in 2016

Sally Beauty has appointed an interim chief financial officer.
Sally Beauty has appointed an interim chief financial officer.

Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. has announced that its consolidated same-store sales grew 3% following the fourth quarter and full-year 2016 financial results.

Net sales for the fiscal 2016 fourth quarter totaled $976.4 million, an increase of 1.3% from the fiscal 2015 fourth quarter, driven by same-store sales growth and the addition of new stores. Notably, consolidated same-store sales growth in the fiscal 2016 fourth quarter was 1.2%, compared to 3.5% in the fiscal 2015 fourth quarter.

Consolidated net sales for fiscal year 2016 were $3.95 billion, an increase of 3.1% from fiscal year 2015, driven by same -tore sales growth and the addition of new stores. Consolidated same store sales growth in fiscal year 2016 was 2.9%, flat when compared fiscal year 2015.

“We achieved solid results with full-year adjusted EPS growth of 12%,” said Chris Brickman, president and CEO. “Consolidated same store sales grew almost 3% and gross margin expanded 20 basis points despite the unfavorable impact from foreign currency. Cash from operations of $351 million enabled us to invest in the business and return a substantial portion to our shareholders. During the year, we opened 152 net new stores and continued to buy our stock, acquiring 7.8 million shares totaling $207 million."

Brickman added, “Looking ahead to 2017, we are excited about our sales driving initiatives in both businesses. In Sally, our in-store investments are mostly behind us and the Sally team is focused on the next phase of customer conversion and engagement. We believe our BSG business will continue to gain channel share and work towards becoming the indisputable partner of choice for stylists and manufacturers. Our 2017 financial goals are straightforward. We expect revenue improvement from consolidated same store sales growth of approximately 3% and organic store openings of 2% to 3%. Gross margin expansion is anticipated to be 30 to 40 basis points and should offset higher SG&A expenses resulting from the headwinds in labor and IT investments. We believe the combination of sales growth and gross margin expansion will lead to mid-single digit operating earnings growth."

Brickman concluded, "Our focus is on delivering these straightforward targets in 2017 and building on that momentum as labor cost inflation and IT spending tapers off in future years. This should allow for SG&A leverage and higher operating earnings growth over time."

 

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