High-flying Ulta Beauty to open 100 stores per year for next five years

Bolingbrook, Ill. – Ulta Beauty on Friday posted second-quarter net income that jumped 35%, easily beating Wall Street's expectations. The company also raised its full-year outlook, and announced a five-year strategic plan that includes opening some 100 stores annually.



Ulta’s net income for the quarter ended Aug. 2 increased to $60.8 million, from $44.9 million a year earlier. Net sales increased 22.2% to $734.2 million from $601 million last year, also topping expectations.



Same-store sales rose 9.6%, and comparable e-commerce sales soared 54.9%.



Ulta ended the quarter with 715 stores. During the next five years, the chain plans to open 100 new stores annually, and grow online to represent 10% of total sales, and deliver annual same-store store sales growth of 5 to 7%.



“We are delighted to announce excellent second quarter results and our more optimistic view of sales and earnings growth for 2014,” said Mary Dillon, CEO. “A significant improvement in traffic, successful new product and brand launches, and rapid e-commerce growth drove better than expected top line performance. As a result, the Ulta team delivered healthy operating margin expansion in the second quarter. We are raising our outlook for the year and now expect to achieve sales and earnings per share growth in the 20% range, reflecting our confidence in continued strong market share gains.”