Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Jumps on Solid Earnings

Shares of Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance ULTA are trading higher in the after-hours following the release of the company's Q1 earnings results. Currently, shares are higher by 10.14%, trading at $54.64; they closed the regular session lower by 0.18%, at $49.61. Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance said that its Q1 EPS was $0.37 on revenues of $386 million. The Street was looking for $0.31 per share on revenues of $371.6 million. Revenues rose 20.5% year over year. "We had a terrific start to the year with total sales, comparable store sales and net income per share solidly ahead of our guidance, demonstrating the ongoing preference of our beauty experience and the continued success of our growth strategies," stated Chuck Rubin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ulta. "Our first quarter results included net sales growth of 20.6% driven by an 11.1% increase in comparable store sales and the expansion of our store base. Operating income grew faster than sales climbing 67.4% from the first quarter last year to 10.1% of net sales.” Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc. is a beauty retailer that provides one-stop shopping for prestige, mass and salon products and salon services in the United States. The company offers a combination of over 21,000 prestige and mass beauty products organized by category in bright, open, self-service displays to encourage its customers to play, touch, test, learn and explore.