Ulta Beauty tops quarterly results on strong holiday demand for cosmetics, perfumes

(Reuters) - Ulta Beauty beat sales and profit expectations for the fourth quarter on Thursday, signaling a robust holiday season as shoppers flocked to its stores for products ranging from cosmetics to perfumes, sending shares up 7% in extended trading.

The beauty retailer, like larger companies such as Walmart and Amazon.com, offered discounts during the Thanksgiving period to attract customers who had been saving dollars to splurge during the shopping period.

Ulta's results starkly contrast those of other beauty companies such as Coty, Elf Beauty and L'Oreal, which have reported softer growth in the U.S. mass beauty market.

Ulta's fourth-quarter net sales fell 1.9% to $3.49 billion but topped estimates of $3.46 billion.

The company posted a profit of $8.46 per share for the quarter ended February 1, compared to estimates of $7.12 per share.

In January, Ulta named insider Kecia Steelman as the successor to retiring CEO Dave Kimbell amid industry-wide struggles with customers grappling, with concerns of an economic slowdown.

Ulta, however, forecast annual sales and profit below expectations at a time when cosmetics and fragrances could become more expensive due to impending trade policies from U.S. President Donald Trump and the European Union.

The company expects annual sales to be between $11.5 billion and $11.6 billion, compared with analysts' estimates of $11.67 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Ulta expects annual profit per share to be between $22.50 and $22.90, compared with expectations of $23.47.

(Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)

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