The US’ largest beauty retailer Ulta Beauty has reported another record-breaking quarter.
For the third quarter of fiscal 2021, ended 30 October, net sales increased almost 30% to US$2bn, compared with $1.6bn in Q3 of fiscal 2020.
Gross profit spiked from $545m in 2020 to $789m this year, while a lack of impairment costs compared with the $23.6m the business had to fork out during 2020 has significantly improved Ulta’s balance books.
Net sales for the first nine months of 2021 increased just shy of 50% to $5.9bn, compared with $4bn during the same period in last year.
This, the group said, was primarily due to the improving situation regarding Covid-19.
The easing of restrictions helped consumer confidence grow, meaning more shoppers were back in-store to pick up their beauty items.
Meanwhile, pre-opening expenses decreased to $1.8m compared with $4.2m in the third quarter of 2020.
“The Ulta Beauty team delivered outstanding results again this quarter,” said Dave Kimbell, Chief Executive of Ulta, who took over from the company’s long-serving leader Mary Dillon in June.
“For the third quarter, we delivered record sales and earnings, increased our market share and expanded our Ultimate Rewards loyalty programme to nearly 36 million members.
“This strong third quarter performance reflects the strength and resiliency of the beauty category, the power of the Ulta Beauty differentiated model and the impact of our winning culture and team.”
He continued: “I want to express my sincere appreciation to all of our Ulta Beauty associates for their incredible efforts to serve our guests and deliver these excellent results.”