Revlon Inc. reported sales gains for its most recent quarter, but the company is still operating at a loss.
Revlon reported a 9.2 percent increase in net sales for the period ended Sept. 30 to $521.1 million. The business posted a net loss of $53.1 million, larger than the $44.5 million net loss it reported in the prior-year period. Revlon said that the increase was because of debt it paid off in 2020, as well as currency shifts. “Excluding these impacts, as reported net loss would have improved by $42.3 million,” the company said in a statement.
Revlon spent much of 2020 renegotiating debt, which allowed the company to avoid a more formal restructuring process. The business is majority owned by MacAndrews & Forbes, which is run by Ronald Perelman, who said in 2020 that he’d been selling off assets — from companies to fine art — as he looks for a simpler life.
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As of Sept. 30, Revlon had liquidity of $121.9 million, including $73.3 million in cash and $53.2 million available under a revolving credit facility. The company has about $3.3 billion in long-term debt.
Revlon sales increased 4.2 percent, to $173 million in the quarter; Elizabeth Arden sales jumped 15.5 percent, to $122.8 million; the portfolio segment, which includes American Crew and Mitchum, saw sales increase 13.2 percent, to $112.7, and the fragrance division saw a 7 percent uptick, to $112.6 million in sales.
At the Revlon brand, sales improved because of higher net sales of Revlon ColorSilk and Revlon makeup in North America and globally. Revlon also saw slightly higher sales of beauty tools, but sales of Revlon-branded hair products declined in North America.
Elizabeth Arden saw improvements internationally and via travel retail. The Green Tea and White Tea fragrances sold well, the company said, and the brand benefited from improved foot traffic at retail.
Revlon’s portfolio division saw improvements at American Crew, Almay, CND and Mitchum, the company said. The fragrance division saw strong sales of Juicy Couture and John Varvatos.
E-commerce now represents about 13 percent of Revlon’s sales, compared to about 9 percent in 2019, executives said.
While Revlon’s third-quarter numbers show improvements over 2020 figures, which reflected major impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, they are not back up to 2019 levels.
In the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2019, Revlon posted net sales of $596.8 million. The Revlon brand posted $217.3 million in sales that quarter, a 12.9 percent dip; Elizabeth Arden posted a 1 percent gain, to $123.2 million; the portfolio segment posted a 14.6 percent dip to $118.2 million; and the fragrance segment posted a 5 percent decline to $138.1 million.
Going forward, Revlon has a renewed focus on sustainability, chief executive officer Debbie Perelman said on the company’s earnings call on Friday. She said that two-thirds of 2021 launches have “sustainable elements, either in the formulation, ingredients or packaging.”
The business is also partnering with Beauty United, an organization that aims to make the beauty industry more diverse, Perelman said.
The company has been working to implement its global growth accelerator program, Perelman said. The program includes strategic growth focused on key brands and key markets, operating efficiencies to invest in growth, and capability building, focused on capabilities and up-skilling employees. “We remain on track to deliver against our expectations of approximately mid-single-digit compounded annual growth rate through the end of 2023, as well as cost reductions of approximately $75 million to $95 million,” Perelman said.
For more from WWD.com, see:
Revlon Avoided Bankruptcy. Now What?
Behind the Scenes of Revlon’s Debt