Helen Of Troy Moves To 4Q Loss On Hefty Charge

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Helen of Troy Ltd. said Wednesday that it moved to a fiscal fourth-quarter loss on a large impairment charge as consumers continued to clamp down on their spending during the recession.

The personal care and household products company lost $88 million, or $2.93 per share, compared with a profit of $10.3 million, or 33 cents per share, a year ago.

Excluding a $99.5 million impairment charge, earnings were $11 million, or 36 cents per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected profit of 14 cents per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Sales for the period ended Feb. 28 slipped 4 percent to $138.6 million from $144.1 million as consumers tightened their personal care spending. The stronger dollar also weighed on results.

Housewares revenue edged up 1.4 percent on the strong performance of its OXO brands, while personal care sales fell 6.1 percent.

For the year, Helen of Troy lost $56.8 million, or $1.88 per share. That compares with profit of $61.5 million, or $1.93 per share, in the previous year.

Adjusted profit was $55.7 million, or $1.75 per share.

Annual revenue declined to $622.7 million, down 5 percent from $652.5 million.

In morning trading, Helen of Troy shares rallied $1.58, or 9.3 percent, to $18.64.