Coty Inc (NYSE:COTY) shares are trading higher after the company reported third-quarter FY24 sales growth of 8% year-on-year to $1.386 billion, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $1.371 billion.
The sales increase was supported by high-single-digit percentage growth in all regions. LFL revenue increased 10%, supported by growth in fragrances, color cosmetics, skin care and body care. Prestige net revenues increased 8% and that of Consumer Beauty gained 6%.
Revenue in the Americas rose 8% Y/Y, and EMEA increased 7%. Gross margin expanded 190 basis points Y/Y to 64.8%, and the gross profit increased 10.7% to $897.8 million.
Adjusted operating margin was 10.4%, and the adjusted operating income increased 17.3% to $143.9 million. Adjusted EBITDA of $199.9 million climbed 10% Y/Y, resulting in an adjusted EBITDA margin of 14.4%.
Coty’s e-commerce channel net revenue growth was nearly 20% in the third quarter. Adjusted EPS was $0.05, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06.
Operating cash flow for the quarter totaled $(170) million, with a free cash flow of $(234.3) million. The company held $286.2 million in cash and equivalents as of March-end.
The company’s financial net debt as of March-end, totaled $3.71 billion compared to $3.31 billion on December-end.
“Our Q3 results reinforce Coty’s established track record of delivering results ahead of the beauty market and ahead of expectations, and once again illustrate that we are executing on our imperative to drive balanced portfolio growth," said CEO Sue Nabi.
Outlook: Coty expects FY24 LFL revenue growth to be at the high end of its prior guidance range of +9% – 11%, which includes expectations for low-to-mid single-digit percentage LFL revenue growth in the fourth quarter.
The company still sees FY24 adjusted EBITDA of $1.08 billion – $1.09 billion. Coty sees FY24 adjusted EPS to be at the higher end of $0.44-$0.47, with an estimate of $0.45.
Price Action: COTY shares are trading higher by 3.83% at $11.94 in premarket at the last check on Tuesday.
