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  Title	COTY's Q1 Earnings & Sales Miss as Chinese Mainland Struggles Persist
  ID	4000320
  External ID	153400650
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  Published Date	Nov. 7, 2024, 9:34 a.m.
  Summary	COTY's Q1 Earnings & Sales Miss as Chinese Mainland Struggles Persist Zacks Equity Research Thu, Nov 7, 2024, 10:34 AM 10 min read In This Article: COTY -1.17% BOOT +0.33% ANF +1.19% Coty Inc. COTY po
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  Sentiment	Negative: 0.56689    Neutral: 0.04278    Positive: 0.39033
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  Content ID	2277800
  Key	b15c9283-41a8-46e2-a154-e5a5e4b5aeaa
  Content	COTY's Q1 Earnings & Sales Miss as Chinese Mainland Struggles Persist Zacks Equity Research Thu, Nov 7, 2024, 10:34 AM 10 min read In This Article: COTY -1.17% BOOT +0.33% ANF +1.19% Coty Inc. COTY posted first-quarter fiscal 2025 results, with the top and bottom lines increasing year over year but missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The macroeconomic environment remains challenging, with the exceptional beauty market growth of recent years transitioning into a more normalized phase. However, consumers prioritize beauty spending, with fragrances remaining a top-performing category in the beauty industry. While Coty faces headwinds in markets like the Chinese mainland, Asia Travel Retail and the U.S. mass cosmetics, the company remains at the forefront of driving growth through innovative product launches, improved formulations and engaging marketing campaigns. In the fiscal first quarter, Coty delivered adjusted earnings of 15 cents, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of earnings of 19 cents. Nevertheless, the bottom line improved from earnings of 9 cents reported in the year-ago quarter. Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar. Coty’s net revenues came in at $1,671.5 million, a 2% increase. The metric reflects a 1% adverse impact from unfavorable foreign currency exchange and a 1% headwind due to the divestiture of the Lacoste license. Quarterly net revenues missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,677 million. On a like-for-like (LFL) basis, Coty’s net revenues grew 4.5% on growth in the Prestige Beauty business. The company's overall sales growth was driven by strong performance in the fragrance in all price points, like prestige, ultra-premium and mass fragrances. However, softness in the mass cosmetics market and active order management by retailers put pressure on sales within both the mass and prestige cosmetics categories. We had expected LFL revenues to increase by 6%. Coty Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Coty Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Coty price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Coty Quote A Closer Look at COTY’s Q1 Results Coty's e-commerce channel continues to be a key driver of growth for its Prestige and Consumer Beauty segments, with strong performance across all major regions. In the fiscal first quarter, Coty reported a mid-single-digit percentage increase in e-commerce net revenues. As a result, e-commerce penetration grew by nearly 40 basis points (bps) year over year, reaching nearly 20% of total sales in the quarter. Both Coty’s Prestige and Consumer Beauty divisions saw growth in e-commerce penetration, further boosting the company’s market share in the online retail space. The gross margin came in at 65.5%, expanding 200 bps. This improvement was driven by premiumization, strategic pricing actions, easing inflation, a reduction in excess and obsolescence, and supply chain efficiencies. The company’s adjusted gross margin reached 65.5%, up 200 bps. Coty reported an operating income of $237.8 million, a 20% increase from $197.5 million in the prior year’s level, on the back of increased sales and gross profit. The company's operating margin was 14.2%, expanding 220 bps year-over-year. This growth in operating margin was attributed to the strong expansion of gross margin. The adjusted EBITDA of $360.1 million remained flat year over year. The adjusted EBITDA margin was 21.5%, reflecting a contraction of 50 bps. This decline was due to increased investments in support of the company’s strategic priorities. Story Continues COTY Provides Q1 Insights by Segment Prestige : Net revenues in the segment totaled $1,114.1 million, accounting for 67% of total company sales. This represents a 5% increase on a reported basis and a 7% increase on an LFL basis. Growth on a reported basis was driven by strong performance in the EMEA and Americas regions, though it was partially offset by a 2% unfavorable impact from the divestiture of the Lacoste license. The Prestige fragrance category continues to outpace the beauty market in North America and Europe, fueled by strong volume growth and positive price/mix trends. Coty’s Prestige fragrance net revenues remained solid, with most of its leading brands seeing double-digit growth, driven by robust global demand and a mix of iconic products and innovations. In the Global Travel Retail channel, reported net revenue growth was led by double-digit growth in Travel Retail Americas, along with moderate gains in Travel Retail Europe. Within the Prestige cosmetics portfolio, Burberry makeup and Kylie Cosmetics saw higher net revenues, while Gucci makeup saw a decline due to softness in the Chinese mainland and Asia Travel Retail markets. The segmental adjusted operating income was $279.7 million compared with $260.3 million reported in the year-ago quarter. The adjusted operating margin was 25.1%. Consumer Beauty : Net revenues amounted to $557.4 million, accounting for 33% of total sales. This represents a 3% decline on a reported basis, with no year-over-year change on an LFL basis. The global mass beauty market continues to witness slower growth, driven by unit demand. For Consumer Beauty, strong growth in mass fragrance and mass skincare partially offset declines in body care and mass cosmetics. The softness in cosmetics was primarily driven by the the U.S. mass color cosmetics market where channel shifts exacerbated the situation. However, Consumer Beauty's EMEA region saw impressive growth, with many countries like Central and Eastern Europe, Germany, France and Italy contributing to the positive performance. Coty’s mass fragrance brands performed well, with reported net revenues growing by a double-digit percentage. In addition, the Consumer Beauty e-commerce channel saw a mid-single-digit percentage increase in sales on a reported basis, contributing to market share gains. The segmental adjusted operating income was $23.9 million, down $41.9 million reported in the year-ago quarter. The adjusted operating margin remained 4.3%, down from 7.3%. Regional Revenue Results for COTY’s Q1 Coty’s Americas segment reported net revenues of $693.5 million, accounting for 41% of total sales. This represents a 2% decline on a reported basis, due to a 5% negative impact from foreign exchange and lower revenues in the Consumer Beauty segment, which were affected by softness in the U.S. color cosmetics market and body care in Brazil. However, this decline was partially offset by mid-single-digit growth in the Prestige segment. On an LFL basis, Americas net revenues rose 4%, driven by high single-digit growth in the Prestige segment, with a 2% contribution from Argentina. Coty’s EMEA segment generated net revenues of $787.8 million, accounting for 47% of total sales. This represents an 8% increase on a reported basis, driven by high-single-digit growth in the Prestige segment, mid-single-digit growth in the Consumer Beauty segment and a 2% favorable impact from foreign exchange. These gains were partially offset by a 2% negative impact from the divestiture of the Lacoste license. On an LFL basis, EMEA net revenues grew by 8% in the first quarter. The region’s strong performance was supported by growth in almost all markets, as well as positive contributions from the regional Travel Retail channel. Coty’s Asia Pacific segment reported net revenues of $190.2 million, representing 11% of total sales. This marks a 5% decline on a reported basis, due to lower revenues in the Prestige segment and a 1% negative impact from the divestiture of the Lacoste license, partially offset by a 1% favorable foreign exchange benefit. On an LFL basis, Asia Pacific net revenues also declined by 5%. The region saw net revenue declines across both divisions, driven by challenging market conditions in mainland China and the regional Travel Retail channel. However, these declines were partially offset by growth in other markets across the Asia Pacific region. Zacks Investment Research Image Source: Zacks Investment Research COTY’s Financial Health Snapshot This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $283.6 million and net long-term debt of $3,934.4 million. For the three months ended Sept. 30, 2024, cash provided by operating activities amounted to $67.4 million. What to Expect From Coty in FY25 In the last few months, the beauty market has continued to show solid momentum, although growth has slowed compared to the double-digit increases seen in previous years. Prestige fragrances remain a standout category, though growth has eased slightly. The mass beauty sector is now growing in the low single digits, with the mass cosmetics category showing flat performance. Against this backdrop, slower end-demand and major channel shifts in the U.S. mass beauty and Asia are impacting order levels as Coty moves into the fiscal second quarter, with sell-in trailing well behind sell-out. As a result, Coty expects LFL sales growth in the first half of fiscal 2025 to be in the range of 3-4%. Coty expects LFL growth in the second half of fiscal 2025 to be in line with the first half. This outlook is supported by easier year-over-year comparisons and strong performance in prestige fragrances but offset by ongoing challenges in the Chinese mainland, Asia Travel Retail and the U.S. mass cosmetics markets. Coty expects fiscal 2025 adjusted EBITDA to grow near the lower end of its previous guidance of 9-11% year-over-year growth, driven by continued sales growth, ongoing gross margin expansion and higher cost savings while maintaining A&CP in the high 20% range. This outlook includes a return to adjusted EBITDA growth in the fiscal second quarter at a mid-single-digit percentage, with steady acceleration expected in the remaining quarters. Coty's adjusted EBITDA growth target, coupled with more moderate revenue growth, reflects a robust adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of nearly 100 basis points in fiscal 2025. The company expects full-year adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to be at the lower end of its previous guidance range of 54-57 cents, representing mid-teen percentage growth. Management anticipates achieving savings of more than $120 million in fiscal 2025, exceeding its initial guidance by over $45 million, with these initiatives anticipated to drive ongoing savings into the next fiscal year and beyond. Coty expects free cash flow to increase by a double-digit percentage year-over-year, reaching the low to mid-$400 million range. Shares of COTY have declined 20.3% in the past three months against the industry’s growth of 2.2%. Top Three Picks Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. BOOT sports a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy). Boot Barn has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6.8%, on average. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here . The consensus estimate for BOOT’s current financial year sales and earnings indicates advancements of 13.9% and 13%, respectively, from the prior-year figures. The Gap, Inc. GAP is a premier international specialty retailer offering a diverse range of clothing, accessories and personal care products. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for The Gap’s fiscal 2024 earnings and sales indicates growth of 31.5% and 0.5%, respectively, from the year-ago actuals. GAP has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 142.8%. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ANF, a leading casual apparel retailer, currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. ANF delivered an earnings surprise of almost 28% in the last reported quarter. The consensus estimate for Abercrombie’s current financial year sales and earnings indicates advancements of 13% and 63.4%, respectively, from the prior-year figures. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Abercrombie & Fitch Company (ANF) : Free Stock Analysis Report Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. (BOOT) : Free Stock Analysis Report The Gap, Inc. (GAP) : Free Stock Analysis Report Coty (COTY) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research View Comments Terms and Privacy Policy Privacy Dashboard Recommended Stories
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