Elizabeth Arden Posts Wider-Than-Expected Q4 Loss

reported a wider-than-expected loss for its fiscal fourth quarter. The Miramar, Florida-based company posted a quarterly net loss of $108.7 million, or $3.65 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $155.9 million, or $5.24 per share. Excluding non-recurring items, the company's adjusted loss came in at $1.57 per share. Its net sales declined to $175.5 million from $191.7 million, while adjusted sales slipped 6.2 percent to $188.7 million. Analysts were expecting a loss of $0.65 per share on revenue of $188.8 million. North America sales fell 14 percent, while international sales gained 4 percent. Adjusted net sales of Elizabeth Arden branded products slipped around 2 percent in the quarter, while adjusted net sales of non-Elizabeth Arden branded fragrances dropped 9 percent. E. Scott Beattie, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "This is the second consecutive quarter of sales growth for the Elizabeth Arden brand. The 7% constant currency increase this quarter is on top of a 9% constant currency increase in the third fiscal quarter. This gives us confidence as we head into the launch of the new Elizabeth Arden brand marketing campaign this fall, which is accompanied by a richer innovation pipeline. Our balance sheet and cash flow metrics also continued to improve, and we finished the fiscal year ahead of plan, resulting in $54 million in operating cash flow for fiscal 2015." For fiscal 2016, Elizabeth Arden projects net sales to increase over 2015. Elizabeth Arden shares fell 0.39 percent to close at $10.20 yesterday.