Coty (NYSE: COTY) reported Q2 EPS of $0.17, $0.10 better than the analyst estimate of $0.07. Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.42 billion versus the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion.

Continuing Operations

Revenues:

• 2Q21 reported net revenues of $1,415.6 million decreased 15.9% year-over-year, including a negative foreign exchange (FX) impact of 0.5%. LFL revenue decreased 17.9%, driven by LFL decreases in the EMEA segment of 24.8%, Asia Pacific segment of 17.2%, and Americas of 7.4%. By channel, the prestige business decline 15.6%, showing a significant improvement from -25.0% in Q1, while the mass business declined 21.6%.
• Year-to-date reported net revenues of $2,539.7 million decreased 17.9% year-over-year, including a negative FX impact of 0.3%. LFL revenue decreased 18.4%, driven by LFL decreases in the Asia Pacific segment of 26.8%, EMEA of 24.6%, and Americas of 6.1%.

Gross Margin:

• 2Q21 reported and adjusted gross margin of 58.7% decreased from 62.4% in the prior-year period, due to the negative impact from the regional and category sales mix as well as the decline in sales volume.
• Year-to-date reported and adjusted gross margin of 58.7% decreased from 61.4% in the prior-year period, primarily due to mix impact as well as lower production volumes.

Operating Income and EBITDA:

• 2Q21 reported operating income from Continuing Operations of $17.0 million increased from a reported operating loss of $80.5 million in the prior year due to a $112.2 million reduction in restructuring and other business realignment costs, as well as lower SG&A, partially offset by higher acquisition and divestiture related expenses of 15.7 million.
• 2Q21 adjusted operating income for Continuing Operations of $188.4 million rose 7% from $176.4 million in the prior year, while the adjusted EBITDA for Continuing Operations of $284.1 million increased 6% from the prior year. The increase was driven by continued fixed cost reductions across both people and non-people costs, combined with active management of marketing investments. For 2Q21, the adjusted operating margin for Continuing Operations increased 280 bps to 13.3%, while the adjusted EBITDA margin increased 420.0 bps to 20.1%.
• Year-to-date reported operating loss from Continuing Operations of $49.0 million increased from a reported operating loss of $16.5 million due to lower sales, reduced gross profit, as well as higher acquisition and divestiture related expenses, partially offset by lower media investments and fixed cost expenses. Year-to-date adjusted operating income for Continuing Operations increased 11.4% to $269.5 million, with a margin of 10.6%, while the adjusted EBITDA totaled $449.9 million with a margin of 17.7%.

Commenting on the operating results, Sue Y. Nabi, Coty\'s CEO, said:

"Our strong second quarter results build on the momentum of the first quarter, as the entire organization continued to act with discipline, flexibility and creativity in an uncertain environment. With revenues delivering on our objectives and profit, cash flow and debt all ahead of expectations, including 6% EBITDA growth, it is clear that a much stronger Coty is emerging, which we believe will weather any near-term market headwinds while simultaneously positioned strongly to capture the opportunities of the eventual global recovery. Entering Q3, January trends are starting inline with our expectations.

The strong execution on our fixed cost savings plan, with approximately $160 million of savings generated in the first half of FY21, and a solid pipeline of projects for the second half, give us confidence to raise our savings target for the full year to approximately $300 million. The additional savings will allow us to protect our profitability in the coming months of uncertainty while simultaneously freeing up funds to increase our A&CP investments in the second half of FY21 to support our carefully chosen strategic initiatives.

We continued to progress on our strategic objectives during the quarter. Our e-commerce momentum, with 40% sales growth was broad-based, spanning the prestige and mass businesses, across key regions, and fueled by success in pureplay e-retailers, brick & click retailers, and DTC. Our China prestige business continues to grow, with strong fragrance sell-out and the more than doubling of retail sales for both Gucci and Burberry cosmetics, speaking to the strong appeal of both brands to Chinese consumers. And we have continued building on Gucci\'s momentum in China, with the opening this week of the Gucci Beauty flagship store on Tmall, for which we see tremendous potential in the coming years. And in our core business, we continue to deliver leading innovation in both prestige and mass. I am delighted to see Marc Jacobs Perfect ending the year as the #1 fragrance launch of CY20 in the U.S., U.K, Canada and Australia, while Hugo Boss delivered strong innovation behind Alive and Boss Bottled. Meanwhile, we continued to build our prestige cosmetics footprint, with sales growing double digits in Q2. In mass, Rimmel\'s revamped Lasting Finish 25H foundation helped strengthen its market share in the UK and Italy, while Cover Girl continued to strengthen its positioning as the brand leading on clean, vegan and cruelty free products, through its Clean Fresh line-up and the more recent launch of Lash Blast Clean mascara. Additionally, we are gradually stabilizing market share in our mass beauty business, fueled by the strong momentum of our brands online, including nearly a doubling of share on Amazon.

At the same time, we have strengthened the Coty leadership team with Stefano Curti joining as Chief Brands Officer, Consumer Beauty; Alexis Vaganay as Chief Commercial Officer, Consumer Beauty; Laurent Mercier elevated to Coty CFO and Stephane Delbos promoted to Chief Procurement Officer. The new Coty team is now in place, bringing strong beauty and business experience, deep knowledge of Coty, and relevant knowledge of new areas like skincare. At the same time, we are supported by a strong and female-majority Board of Directors, including the recent additions of two new directors, Anna Adeola Makanju and Mariasun Aramburuzabala Larregui.

As we have finalized our strategic review, including new growth opportunities, brand equity mapping, and a repositioning plan for our core mass brands, we will share our strategic priorities around accelerating growth in mid-April, with a full Investor Day planned for Fall 2021.

I am excited by the tremendous opportunities and exciting journey ahead for Coty, and look forward to sharing this vision in the coming months."

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