Edgewell Personal Care Co (EPC) Reports Mixed Fourth Quarter Results and Provides Optimistic ...
Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) reports a slight decrease in Q4 net sales but achieves a 3.7% increase for the full fiscal year 2023.
Adjusted EPS for fiscal 2023 rose to $2.56, marking a 14% increase at constant currency compared to the previous year.
EPC delivers a robust fiscal 2024 outlook with expected growth in organic net sales and adjusted EPS.
The company returned $107 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases in fiscal 2023.
On November 9, 2023, Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) announced its financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter and the full year ended September 30, 2023. Despite a marginal 0.5% decrease in Q4 net sales, the full-year results showed a 3.7% increase to $2,251.6 million. The company also reported a third consecutive year of mid-single-digit organic net sales growth, demonstrating resilience in a challenging macroeconomic environment.
Fiscal 2023 Performance Highlights
For the fourth quarter, EPC posted net sales of $534.1 million, with organic net sales down by 1.9%. The full-year organic net sales, however, rose by 4.3%. The GAAP diluted net earnings per share (EPS) for Q4 stood at $0.57, culminating in a $2.18 EPS for the fiscal year. Adjusted EPS for the fourth quarter was $0.72, and $2.56 for the full year, which was a $0.37 or 14% increase at constant currency from the previous year.
Edgewell ended the fourth quarter with $216 million in cash on hand and a net debt leverage ratio of 3.4x. The company's commitment to shareholder returns was evident as it repurchased $75 million in shares and paid out $32 million in dividends during the fiscal year.
Income Statement and Balance Sheet Review
The company's gross profit for Q4 was $228.0 million, a notable increase from the prior year, with gross margin improving by 190 basis points to 42.7%. Adjusted gross margin also saw an increase, primarily due to productivity savings and higher pricing.
However, selling, general, and administrative expenses (SG&A) rose to 21.0% of net sales, up from 18.3% in the prior year quarter. This increase was attributed to higher incentive compensation, people costs, and the impact of unfavorable currency movements.
Edgewell's balance sheet remained solid with total assets of $3,740.7 million as of September 30, 2023. The company's long-term debt stood at $1,360.7 million, with total shareholders' equity amounting to $1,531.3 million.
Looking Ahead: Fiscal 2024 Outlook
Edgewell's President and CEO, Rod Little, expressed pride in the company's performance, stating,
Fiscal 2023 represents the third consecutive year of organic net sales growth above our algorithm, demonstrating the impact of our stronger portfolio of brands and meaningfully improved retail presence, and illustrating successful execution of the strategy we outlined in 2020 and the resulting transformation of Edgewell.
For fiscal 2024, EPC anticipates organic net sales growth of approximately 2% to 4% and a 7% increase in adjusted EPS, or 15% on a constant currency basis, at the midpoint of the outlook range. The company also expects to continue its strong capital allocation strategy, including further share repurchases.
Investors and interested parties can access a live webcast of the investor conference call and find additional information on Edgewell's website.
For detailed financial tables and further information, please refer to the full earnings release and financial statements provided by Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC).
Click here to access the investor conference call webcast.
Explore the complete 8-K earnings release (here) from Edgewell Personal Care Co for further details.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
