Helen of Troy (NASDAQ: HELE) reported Q3 EPS of $3.72, $0.57 better than the analyst estimate of $3.15. Revenue for the quarter came in at $624.9 million versus the consensus estimate of $566.3 million.

GUIDANCE:

Helen of Troy sees FY2022 EPS of $11.55-$11.75, versus the consensus of $11.21.

• Due to the sale of the majority of the Personal Care business during the second quarter of fiscal 2022 and the expected continued classification of the remaining Latin America and Caribbean Personal Care business as Non-Core for fiscal 2022, the Company is providing its updated outlook on both a consolidated and Core business basis in order to provide comparability between historical and future periods.
• The expected impact of the Osprey acquisition for the period from the date of closing to the end of fiscal year 2022 is estimated to provide approximately $20 million of net sales revenue and approximately $0.05 and $0.07 of diluted EPS and adjusted diluted EPS, respectively. The expected impact of the Osprey acquisition is included in both the updated consolidated and Core business outlook provided.
• The Company's updated outlook includes the current estimated impact of the duration of time required to repackage the remaining inventory affected by the EPA compliance concerns and considers anticipated customer demand. The Company's updated outlook includes an improvement in the estimated unfavorable sales revenue impact to approximately $60 million and an improvement in the unfavorable adjusted diluted EPS impact to approximately $0.30 related to lost sales volume and earnings due to the EPA matter. The adjusted diluted EPS impact is net of the favorable impact of cost reduction actions being taken in the Health & Home segment, which include reductions in personnel, marketing and select new product development costs.
• The Company incurred $13.1 million, $3.0 million and $4.9 million of EPA compliance costs during the first, second and third quarters of fiscal 2022, respectively. These costs were included in the Company's GAAP operating results but were excluded from non-GAAP adjusted operating results. The Company expects to incur additional EPA compliance costs in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, which may include incremental freight, warehouse storage costs, charges from vendors, and legal fees, among other things. The Company expects to continue to exclude these costs from non-GAAP adjusted operating results in fiscal 2022, and the costs have been excluded from the updated annual outlook for non-GAAP adjusted diluted EPS.
• The Company expects consolidated net sales revenue in the range of $2.10 to $2.12 billion, which implies growth of flat to 1.0%. The Company expects Core net sales revenue in the range of $2.06 to $2.08 billion, which implies growth of 2.0% to 3.0%, and includes a 3.0% unfavorable impact related to the EPA matter. Excluding the EPA matter, the Company expects Core net sales revenue growth of 5.0% to 6.0%.
• The Company’s updated fiscal year net sales outlook reflects the following expectations by segment:
• Housewares net sales growth of 15.0% to 16.0%;
• Health & Home net sales decline of 20.0% to 19.0%, including 6.7% of decline related to the EPA matter; and
• Beauty net sales growth of 13.0% to 14.0%; Beauty Core business net sales growth of 26.0% to 27.0%.
• The Company expects consolidated GAAP diluted EPS of $8.25 to $8.59 and Core diluted EPS of $8.08 to $8.42. The Company expects consolidated non-GAAP adjusted diluted EPS in the range of $11.73 to $11.93 and Core adjusted diluted EPS in the range of $11.55 to $11.75, which excludes any acquisition-related expenses, EPA compliance costs, asset impairment charges, restructuring charges, tax reform, share-based compensation expense and intangible asset amortization expense. The Company's Core adjusted diluted EPS expectation implies growth of 4.7% to 6.5%, which includes 2.7% of unfavorable impact due to the EPA matter, implying expected year-over-year growth of 7.4% to 9.2% not including the impact of the EPA matter.
• The Company’s updated outlook also includes estimated year-over-year inflationary cost pressures of approximately $55 to $60 million, or approximately $2.25 to $2.45 of adjusted diluted EPS, much of which have been mitigated through improved product mix, price increases, forward buying of inventory to delay cost impacts, utilizing previously negotiated shipping contracts at rates below current market prices, and implementing other cost reduction initiatives.
• The Company’s updated consolidated and Core net sales and EPS outlook reflects the following:
• the assumption that the severity of the cough/cold/flu season will be below pre-COVID historical averages;
• the assumption that December 2021 foreign currency exchange rates will remain constant for the remainder of the fiscal year; and
• an estimated weighted average diluted shares outstanding of 24.4 million.
• Due primarily to the strong growth comparison and COVID-related events in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 and the accelerated orders by retailers in the third quarter of fiscal 2022 to avoid supply chain disruptions during the holiday season, the Company does not expect Core business net sales growth in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022. However, the Company does expect Core adjusted diluted EPS growth for the fourth quarter due to the higher concentration of growth investments made in the prior year comparative period.
• The Company expects a reported consolidated GAAP effective tax rate range of 13.0% to 14.0%, and a Core GAAP effective tax rate range of 12.8% to 13.8% for the full fiscal year 2022. The Company expects a consolidated adjusted effective tax rate range of 10.8% to 11.7% and a Core adjusted effective tax rate range of 10.6% to 11.5%.
• The Company expects capital asset expenditures of $85 to $110 million for the full fiscal year 2022, which includes expected initial expenditures related to the previously announced new two million square foot distribution facility with state-of-the-art automation for the Housewares segment. The Company expects the total cost of the new distribution center and equipment to be in the range of $200 to $225 million spread over fiscal years 2022 and 2023.
• The likelihood and potential impact of any fiscal 2022 acquisitions, other than the Osprey transaction, and divestitures, future asset impairment charges, future foreign currency fluctuations, material long-term distribution losses and/or customer returns that may arise related to the EPA matter, or further share repurchases are unknown and cannot be reasonably estimated; therefore, they are not included in the Company’s updated sales and earnings outlook.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Helen of Troy (HELE) click here.