E.L.F. Beauty sales jump 13% in Q4

By

Robin Driver

Published
May 27, 2020

Californian cosmetics company E.L.F. Beauty rounded off a strong year with a solid fourth-quarter sales gain of 13%, largely due to progress in its digital channel.

 
For the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2020, E.L.F.’s net sales totaled $74.7 million, up from $66.1 million in the prior-year period.
 
In E.L.F.’s quarterly earnings call, chairman and CEO Tarang Amin highlighted the importance of the company’s recent investments in e-commerce for achieving this growth, also pointing out strong rises since the end of the quarter. “In the past few weeks, we've seen triple-digit growth in sales on elfcosmetics.com and a number of our retailer.coms,” he said.

These strong digital increases were partially offset by the negative impact of the permanent closure of all 22 E.L.F. retail stores in February 2019.
 
The company also managed to significantly narrow its quarterly net loss, which came to $0.3 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, compared to a loss of $17.9 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, in the same period in the previous year.
 
For the full fiscal year 2020, E.L.F.’s net sales increased 6% to $282.9 million, compared to $267.7 million in fiscal 2019. Annual net income totaled $17.9 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, up from a net loss of $3.1 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, in the previous year.
 
“Fiscal 2020 was a terrific year for E.L.F. Beauty,” said Amin in a release. “Given our fiscal 2020 results and execution of our five strategic imperatives, we believe we are well positioned relative to the category to navigate the challenges posed by Covid-19.”
 
The company has seen “a significant decline in retail sales” due to the pandemic and expects its sales results to be negatively affected by the ongoing health crisis, but has not provided any more specific financial guidance due to continued uncertainty about the situation.
 
E.L.F. has implemented a range of cost-cutting measures in order to better face the economic challenges posed by Covid-19, including the scaling back of marketing and digital investments in proportion to net sales, and the reduction of merchandising and operating costs, as well as capital expenditures.
 
The company has also accessed $20 million of its $50 million revolving credit facility and amended its credit agreement in order to provide greater flexibility.