First Quarter ‘As Expected’ at Elizabeth Arden

Elizabeth Arden, Inc. posted financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30, 2009. Net sales fell 6.7% to $265.2 million, as compared to the first quarter of the prior fiscal year.

E. Scott Beattie, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Elizabeth Arden, Inc., commented, “We are encouraged by our first quarter results, with each of our business units generally performing as we had expected. Sales results were at the high end of our expectations, and earnings exceeded prior guidance, aided by improved trends in the travel retail and distributor markets and more favorable foreign currency rates. We are particularly pleased with the progress we continue to make with our Global Efficiency Re-engineering initiative. “

Mr. Beattie continued, “There are signs that economic conditions are beginning to improve, and, while early, we are expecting good performance from our new launches for the holiday season. We are still not yet seeing, however, a return to normalized replenishment by our retailers, particularly in our North America fragrance business. While we expect the gap between retail sales and inventory replenishment to improve, it is difficult to predict the timing and magnitude of any improvement. We remain confident that with the success of our operational initiatives, an improvement in retailer replenishment should lead to accelerated growth in earnings and return on invested capital.”

For the second quarter of fiscal 2010, the company expects net sales of $380-$390 million.