Helen of Troy Limited Reports Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2017 Results

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ, NM: HELE), designer, developer and worldwide marketer of consumer brand-name housewares, health and home, nutritional supplement and beauty products, today reported results for the three-month period ended February 28, 2017.

Executive Summary

• Consolidated net sales revenue decrease of 2.3% driven by a core business decline of 8.3%, a decrease of 1.2% from Venezuela re-measurement, and a decline of 0.5% from foreign currency fluctuations, partially offset by growth from Hydro Flask of 7.6%
• Consolidated gross profit margin expansion of 2.0 percentage points; 0.6 percentage points from the core business
• Reported operating income of $40.6 million, or 10.8% of net sales, compared to $16.0 million, or 4.1% of net sales in the same period last year
• Non-GAAP adjusted operating margin decreased 2.1 percentage points to 14.9%, which includes an unfavorable impact of 0.4 percentage points from Venezuela re-measurement
• Cash flow from operations was $89.4 million
• Reported diluted EPS of $1.30 compared to $0.34 in the same period last year
• Non-GAAP adjusted diluted EPS of $1.78 compared to $2.03 in the same period last year
• Fiscal 2018 net sales revenue guidance in a range of $1.56 to $1.60 billion and adjusted diluted EPS in a range of $6.50 to 6.90

Julien R. Mininberg, Chief Executive Officer, stated: “Overall we made considerable progress in fiscal 2017. For the year, we achieved 43% growth in GAAP diluted EPS to $5.04 and 7.7% growth in non-GAAP adjusted diluted EPS to $6.73, which exceeded our most recent, upwardly revised, outlook. We also expanded our GAAP operating margin by 2.2 percentage points and our non-GAAP adjusted operating margin by 0.4 percentage points, which includes a negative impact of 0.4 percentage points from Venezuela re-measurement. We demonstrated the benefits of our diversified portfolio and key transformational strategies to deliver earnings growth and 22% growth in cash flow from operations despite external headwinds. Looking specifically at the fourth quarter, earnings were above expectations, as we delivered adjusted diluted EPS of $1.78, while making important investments in PUR, OXO and Hydro Flask and facing continued headwinds from a sluggish brick and mortar retail environment and unfavorable currency.”

Mr. Mininberg continued: “As we focus on reaccelerating sales growth in fiscal 2018, we plan to strategically invest an incremental $28 million, primarily behind our leadership brands that make up the majority of our revenue and an even higher proportion of our operating profit. We are also increasing our attention on e-commerce, which grew over 30% in fiscal 2017, and digital marketing which also made considerable progress during the year. We believe these efforts will position us to achieve core business sales growth in fiscal 2018 in line with our 2-3% long-term sales growth outlook.”

Consolidated Operating Results - Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2017 Compared to Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2016

• Consolidated net sales revenue decreased 2.3% to $376.7 million compared to $385.7 million, reflecting a decrease in core business net sales revenue of 8.3%, a decline of from Venezuela re-measurement of 1.2%, and a decrease from foreign currency fluctuations of 0.5%, partially offset by growth from acquisitions of 7.6%. The core business decline includes a decrease of approximately 1.2% from the rationalization of certain lower margin business, a decline in the Nutritional Supplements segment of 23.1%, a weak cough/cold/flu season and the impact of lower store traffic and soft spending at traditional brick and mortar retail, along with inventory rationalization by several key retailers, partially offset by the shift in consumer preference to purchasing online.
• Gross profit margin increased 2.0 percentage points to 44.0% compared to 42.0%. The improvement in consolidated gross profit margin is primarily due to: (i) product rationalization efforts; (ii) margin accretion from Hydro Flask; and (iii) the impact of a non-cash Venezuela inventory impairment charge of $9.1 million recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016, which reduced the comparative period consolidated gross profit margin by 2.4 percentage points. These factors were partially offset by the unfavorable impact of foreign currency fluctuations and higher promotional discounting in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017.
• SG&A was 31.9% of net sales compared to 37.1%. The improvement is primarily due to distribution and logistics efficiency and lower outbound freight costs, and the impact of patent litigation and Venezuela re-measurement related charges recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016, which increased the comparative period SG&A ratio by 4.6 and 2.5 percentage points, respectively. These factors were partially offset by: (i) higher compensation costs due to hourly wage increases and higher incentive compensation expense; (ii) higher marketing, advertising and new product development expense; and (iii) the impact that lower net sales had on operating leverage in the Company’s core business.
• Operating income was $40.6 million, or 10.8% of net sales, compared to $16.0 million, or 4.1% of net sales.
• Income tax expense as a percentage of pretax income was 3.5% compared to 26.9%. The year-over-year decrease in the Company’s effective tax rate was primarily due to favorable shifts in the mix of taxable income in the Company’s various tax jurisdictions, tax benefits provided by asset impairment charges, benefits from the finalization of certain tax returns, and resolution of uncertain tax positions. In addition, the prior year period tax rate was negatively impacted by the unfavorable effect of Venezuela currency re-measurement related charges, with no related tax benefit, and the unfavorable effect of the patent litigation charge, with a minimal related tax benefit.
• Net income was $35.7 million, or $1.30 per diluted share on 27.6 million weighted average diluted shares outstanding, compared to $9.6 million, or $0.34 per diluted share on 28.3 million weighted average diluted shares outstanding.
• Adjusted EBITDA (EBITDA excluding non-cash asset impairment charges, non‐cash share based compensation, acquisition-related expenses, Venezuela re-measurement related charges, and patent litigation charges, as applicable) was $60.5 million compared to $69.4 million.

On an adjusted basis for the fourth quarters of fiscal 2017 and 2016, excluding non-cash asset impairment charges, non‐cash share based compensation, non-cash amortization of intangible assets, acquisition-related expenses, Venezuela re-measurement related charges, and patent litigation charges, as applicable:

• Adjusted operating income was $56.1 million, or 14.9% of net sales, compared to $65.5 million, or 17.0% of net sales, primarily reflecting the negative impacts from Venezuela re-measurement and foreign currency fluctuations, higher personnel expense due to higher incentive compensation costs and hourly wage increases, and higher advertising and new product development expense, partially offset by the accretive impact of Hydro Flask and distribution and freight efficiency in the core business.
• Adjusted income was $49.0 million, or $1.78 per diluted share, compared to $57.5 million, or $2.03 per diluted share, primarily reflecting lower adjusted operating income and higher interest expense, partially offset by lower tax expense and lower diluted shares outstanding. Fiscal 2017 includes a negative impact from Venezuela re-measurement of $2.3 million, or $0.08 per diluted share.

Segment Operating Results - Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2017 Compared to Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2016

Housewares net sales increased by 30.5% driven by a 37.1% contribution from Hydro Flask, partially offset by an 6.0% decrease in core business net sales revenue. The core business decline reflects lower retail store traffic at brick and mortar and lower order replenishment from key customers, partially offset by solid product sell through at key traditional and online retail customers. The segment was also impacted by the negative impact of approximately 0.6% from foreign currency fluctuations. GAAP operating margin was 20.1% compared to 18.8%. Adjusted operating margin improved 0.9 percentage points primarily due to the accretive impact of the Hydro Flask acquisition.

Health & Home core business net sales declined 4.3% reflecting the Company’s de-emphasis of low-margin hot/cold therapy business, the impact of a second consecutive weak cough/cold/flu season on replenishment orders, and the comparative impact of strong PUR water filtration sales in fiscal 2016 due to heightened consumer concerns over public water quality. These declines were partially offset by growth in the seasonal heater and humidification categories. GAAP operating margin was 8.1% compared to 4.0%. Adjusted operating margin declined 6.3 percentage points due to an unfavorable product sales mix, lower royalty income, higher promotional and in-store advertising expense, higher marketing and media advertising expense, higher new product development costs, and higher legal expense, partially offset by distribution and freight efficiency.

Beauty core business net sales decreased 11.2% primarily due to rationalization of lower margin and commoditized business, a soft brick and mortar retail environment, retail inventory rationalization, competitive factors in the personal care category and an overall decline in point of sale activity for the broader retail beauty appliances category. GAAP operating margin was 9.9% compared to (8.5%). Adjusted operating margin declined 2.2 percentage points reflecting a 1.9 percentage point decline from Venezuela re-measurement, unfavorable foreign currency, higher promotional spending, higher advertising expense and lower operating leverage from the decline in sales, partially offset by the benefits of business rationalization, freight efficiency and lower compensation costs.

Nutritional Supplements core business net sales decreased 23.1%, primarily reflecting lower response rates in the offline channel, lower average order values, an increase in discounts to promote buyer file growth, and a decline in the offline and legacy newsletter subscription business, as the Company continues to implement a strategic transition from offline to online channels. GAAP operating margin was (4.6%) compared to 7.4%. Adjusted operating margin increased by 5.8 percentage points due primarily to lower marketing and promotional investment in the quarter, partially offset by the impact of the net sales decline on operating leverage and incremental online channel development costs.

Balance Sheet Highlights - Fiscal 2017 Year End Compared to Fiscal 2016 Year End

• Cash and cash equivalents totaled $23.1 million, compared to $225.8 million at the end of fiscal 2016, reflecting $200 million drawn in February 2016 to fund the acquisition of Hydro Flask in March 2016.
• Total short- and long-term debt decreased to $485.6 million, compared to $619.9 million, a net decrease of $134.3 million. The decrease reflects net debt repayments of $133.2 million, which include $75.0 million drawn for share repurchases in the third quarter of fiscal 2017.
• Accounts receivable turnover was 55.3 days, compared to 52.4 days.
• Inventory was $289.1 million, compared to $301.6 million. Inventory turnover was 2.8 times, compared to 2.9 times.

Fiscal 2018 Annual Outlook

For fiscal 2018, the Company expects consolidated net sales revenue in the range of $1.56 to $1.60 billion, which implies consolidated sales growth of 1.5% to 4.1%. The Company’s net sales outlook assumes that mid-April 2017 foreign currency exchange rates will remain constant for the fiscal year, which is expected to negatively impact year-over-year net sales revenue by approximately $8.0 million, or 0.5 percentage points, and that the severity of the cough/cold/flu season will be in line with long-term historical averages. Finally, the Company’s net sales outlook reflects the following expectations by segment:

• Housewares net sales growth of 11% to 13%;
• Health & Home net sales growth in the mid-single digits;
• Beauty net sales decline in the mid-single digits; and
• Nutritional Supplements net sales in line with fiscal 2017.

The Company expects consolidated GAAP diluted EPS of $5.38 to $5.71 and adjusted diluted EPS (non-GAAP) in the range of $6.50 to $6.90, which excludes share-based compensation expense and intangible asset amortization expense. The Company’s diluted EPS outlook assumes that mid-April 2017 foreign currency exchange rates will remain constant for the fiscal year, which is expected to negatively impact the year-over-year comparison by approximately $0.15 per diluted share.

Consistent with the Company’s strategies of investing in core business growth and consumer centric innovation, its outlook includes approximately $0.90 per share year-over-year in incremental investments expanding digital marketing, advertising, new product development and e-commerce, primarily behind the Company’s leadership brands. The diluted EPS outlook is based on an estimated weighted average diluted shares outstanding of 27.4 million and an expected effective tax rate of 10% to 12% for the full fiscal year 2018. The likelihood and potential impact of any fiscal 2018 M&A activity, future asset impairment charges, future foreign currency fluctuations, or further share repurchases are unknown and cannot be reasonably estimated; therefore, they are not included in the Company’s sales and earnings outlook.

Conference Call and Webcast

The Company will conduct a teleconference in conjunction with today's earnings release. The teleconference begins at 4:45 pm Eastern Time today, Thursday, April 27, 2017. Investors and analysts interested in participating in the call are invited to dial (877) 440-5807 approximately ten minutes prior to the start of the call. The conference call will also be webcast live at: www.hotus.com. A telephone replay of this call will be available at 7:45 p.m. Eastern Time on April 27, 2017 until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on May 4, 2017 and can be accessed by dialing (844) 512-2921 and entering replay pin number 3047773. A replay of the webcast will remain available on the website for 60 days.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures:

The Company reports and discusses its operating results using financial measures consistent with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). To supplement its presentation, the Company discloses certain financial measures that may be considered non-GAAP financial measures, such as adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, adjusted income, adjusted diluted EPS, EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA, which are presented in accompanying tables to this press release along with a reconciliation of these financial measures to their corresponding GAAP-based measures presented in the Company’s consolidated statements of income.

About Helen of Troy Limited:

Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ, NM: HELE) is a leading global consumer products company offering creative solutions for its customers through a strong portfolio of well-recognized and widely-trusted brands, including OXO®, OXO Tot®, Hydro Flask®, Vicks®, Braun®, Honeywell®, PUR®, Febreze®; Revlon®, Pro Beauty Tools®, Sure®, Pert®, Infusium23®, Brut®, Ammens®, Hot Tools®, Bed Head®, Dr. Sinatra®, Dr. David Williams®, and Dr. Whitaker®. All trademarks herein belong to Helen of Troy Limited (or its affiliates) and/or are used under license from their respective licensors.

For more information about Helen of Troy, please visit www.hotus.com.

Forward Looking Statements:

Certain written and oral statements made by our Company and subsidiaries of our Company may constitute "forward-looking statements" as defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This includes statements made in this press release. Generally, the words "anticipates", "believes", "expects", "plans", "may", "will", "should", "seeks", "estimates", "project", "predict", "potential", "continue", "intends", and other similar words identify forward-looking statements. All statements that address operating results, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future, including statements related to sales, earnings per share results, and statements expressing general expectations about future operating results, are forward-looking statements and are based upon our current expectations and various assumptions. We believe there is a reasonable basis for our expectations and assumptions, but there can be no assurance that we will realize our expectations or that our assumptions will prove correct. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks that could cause them to differ materially from actual results. Accordingly, we caution readers not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release should be read in conjunction with, and are subject to and qualified by, the risks described in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended February 28, 2017 and in our other filings with the SEC. Investors are urged to refer to the risk factors referred to above for a description of these risks. Such risks include, among others, our ability to deliver products to our customers in a timely manner and according to their fulfillment standards, the costs of complying with the business demands and requirements of large sophisticated customers, our relationships with key customers and licensors, our dependence on the strength of retail economies and vulnerabilities to any prolonged economic downturn, our dependence on sales to several large customers and the risks associated with any loss or substantial decline in sales to top customers, expectations regarding our recent and future acquisitions or divestitures, including our ability to realize anticipated cost savings, synergies and other benefits along with our ability to effectively integrate acquired businesses or separate divested businesses, circumstances which may contribute to future impairment of goodwill, intangible or other long-lived assets, the retention and recruitment of key personnel, foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, disruptions in U.S., U.K., Euro zone, and other international credit markets, risks associated with weather conditions, the duration and severity of the cold and flu season and other related factors, our dependence on foreign sources of supply and foreign manufacturing, and associated operational risks including, but not limited to, long lead times, consistent local labor availability and capacity, and timely availability of sufficient shipping carrier capacity, risks to the Nutritional Supplements segment associated with the availability, purity and integrity of materials used in the manufacture of vitamins, minerals and supplements, the impact of changing costs of raw materials, labor and energy on cost of goods sold and certain operating expenses, the geographic concentration and peak season capacity of certain U.S. distribution facilities increases our exposure to significant shipping disruptions and added shipping and storage costs, our projections of product demand, sales and net income are highly subjective in nature and future sales and net income could vary in a material amount from such projections, the risks associated with the use of trademarks licensed from and to third parties, our ability to develop and introduce a continuing stream of new products to meet changing consumer preferences, increased product liability and reputational risks associated with the formulation and distribution of vitamins, minerals and supplements, the risks associated with potential adverse publicity and negative public perception regarding the use of vitamins, minerals and supplements, trade barriers, exchange controls, expropriations, and other risks associated with U.S. and foreign operations, the risks to our liquidity as a result of changes to capital market conditions and other constraints or events that impose constraints on our cash resources and ability to operate our business, the costs, complexity and challenges of upgrading and managing our global information systems, the risks associated with information security breaches, the increased complexity of compliance with new government regulations covering vitamins, minerals and supplements, the risks associated with product recalls, product liability, other claims, and related litigation against us, the risks associated with accounting for tax positions, tax audits and related disputes with taxing authorities, the risks of potential changes in laws in the U.S. or abroad, including tax laws, regulations or treaties, employment and health insurance laws and regulations, and laws relating to environmental policy, financial regulation, transportation policy and infrastructure policy along with the costs and complexities of compliance with such laws, and our ability to continue to avoid classification as a controlled foreign corporation. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

HELEN OF TROY LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Press Release

(11) The diluted EPS outlook is based on an estimated weighted average shares outstanding of 27.4 million for fiscal year 2018.

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