=Ulta Beauty (ULTA) reported earnings on Thur 24 August 2017 (a/h)

Ulta Beauty beats by $0.05, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 in-line; raises FY18 guidance

• Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $1.83 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.78; revenues rose 20.7% year/year to $1.29 bln vs the $1.29 bln Capital IQ Consensus. 
• Comparable sales (sales for stores open at least 14 months and e-commerce sales) increased 11.7% vs. +10-12% guidance and 14.4% in the second quarter of fiscal 2016. The 11.7% comparable sales increase was driven by 5.5% transaction growth and 6.2% growth in average ticket
  • Retail comparable sales increased 8.3%, including salon comparable sales growth of 7.7%; Salon sales increased 15.3% to $68.0 million from $59.0 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2016; E-commerce sales grew 72.3% to $96.3 million from $55.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2016, representing 340 basis points of the total company comparable sales increase of 11.7%
• During the second quarter, the Company repurchased 462,421 shares of its stock at a cost of $126.5 million.
• The Company ended the second quarter with 1,010 stores and square footage of 10,631,474, representing an 11.3% increase in square footage compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2016.
• Gross profit as a percentage of net sales increased 40 basis points to 36.4% from 36.0% in the second quarter of fiscal 2016, due to improvements in merchandise margins and leverage in fixed store costs.
• Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $1.63-1.68 vs. $1.68 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $1.331-1.353 bln vs. $1.33 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Comparable sales for the third quarter of 2017, including e-commerce sales, are expected to increase 9% to 11%. The Company reported a comparable sales increase of 16.7% in the third quarter of 2016.  
• Co is raising its previously announced fiscal 2017 guidance. The Company plans to:
  • achieve comparable sales growth of ~10% to 11%, including the impact of the e-commerce business, compared to previous guidance of 9% to 11%; grow e-commerce sales in the 50% to 60% range, compared to previous guidance of 50%; open ~100 new stores; remodel 11 locations and relocate 7 stores;
  • deliver earnings per share growth in the high twenties percentage range (consensus +27.6%), compared to previous guidance of mid-twenties percentage range. This includes the impact of the 53rd week, the impact of ~$350 million in share repurchases, and the impact of the tax rate benefit recorded year to date, and excludes any tax rate impact from the new accounting standard related to share-based payment for the rest of the year;