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Investing.com – Ulta Beauty said Thursday it has continued to see signs of improved performance as lockdown measures eased after reporting second-quarter earnings that beat, but revenue fell of Wall Street expectations.
Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) gained 5.71% in after-hours trade following the report.
Ulta Beauty announced earnings per share of $0.73 on revenue of $1.23B. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of $0.1 on revenue of $1.26B.
Comparable sales decreased 26.7% in the quarter, compared with estimates for a 30.8% decline.
Gross margin fell to 26.8% from 36.4% a year earlier.
“Comparable sales trends improved significantly throughout the quarter, from decreasing 37% in early May, as we began reopening stores, to decreasing 10% in July, when most of our stores were re-opened. Notably, sales trends have continued to improve, with comparable sales down in the mid-single digit range for the first three weeks of August,” the company said.
The previously announced plans to close 19 stores, which will occur during the third quarter of fiscal 2020, the company said.
Ulta Beauty shares are down 11.51% from the beginning of the year, still down 34.50% from its 52 week high of $342.00 set on August 29, 2019. They are under-performing the Nasdaq 100 which is up 36.56% from the start of the year.
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