Wella Buying Spree Boosts Third Quarter Sales
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Wella's acquisitions of Graham Webb, Yardley of London (U.S.), Escada Beauté, Tony & Tina and Atkinsons contributed $120.4 mil. (€1=$1.01) to sales for the first nine months of 2002, the Darmstadt, Germany firm announced in its 1sales and earnings release Nov. 19
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Wella's acquisitions of Graham Webb , Yardley of London (U.S.), Escada Beauté , Tony & Tina and Atkinsons contributed $120.4 mil. (€1=$1.01) to sales for the first nine months of 2002, the Darmstadt, Germany firm announced in its 1 sales and earnings release Nov. 19. Acquisitions accounted for 5.3% of Wella's 6.3% sales growth during the period, the firm added. Sales for the nine months totaled $2.44 bil. Earnings before interest and taxes increased 11.9% to $188.1 mil., including the effects of currency and acquisitions, and net profit increased 8.3% to $69.1 mil. Wella's Cosmetics & Fragrances division especially benefited from the acquisition of Atkinsons in August, Tony & Tina in June, Escada in March and Yardley of London's U.S. business in late 2001. The purchases contributed 12.5% of the division's 15.1% sales increase in the first nine months, the company said. Cosmetics & Fragrances division sales reached $501.5 mil. in the period. Operating profit increased 17% to $39 mil. Division sales also benefited from new prestige female fragrances such as Gucci Eau de Parfum , Montblanc Presence for Woman , Rochas Absolu and the male fragrances Bogner Wood and Escada Sentiment For Men , Wella said. In the bridge segment, the introduction of Cindy Crawford's premier fragrance in central Europe has gone "exceptionally well" and promises to be "highly successful," CEO Heiner Gürtler said during a meeting with analysts. In September alone, new scents represented a 33% increase in sales, Wella said. A fragrance licensing agreement signed earlier this year with fashion house Max Mara is expected "to become one of the pillars...of the Cosmopolitan Cosmetics portfolio," Gürtler said, reiterating expectations for the brand to generate €100 mil. in coming years. The first launch is anticipated in spring 2004 (2 'The Rose Sheet' Oct. 14, 2002, In Brief). Sales for Wella's largest business, the Professional division, increased 8.1% to $1.17 bil. in the first three quarters driven by the acquisition of Graham Webb and launches of the Lifetex Nutri-Care hair care line and Sebastian Shaper styling line, Wella said. Operating profit rose 16% to $143.7 mil. Consumer division sales slipped 1.2% to $767.7 mil., and operating profit increased 5.9% to $36.5 mil. |