Revlon sales lift 9% in 2021, fourth quarter revenues dip on Elizabeth Arden, fragrance

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Mar 4, 2022

U.S. cosmetics group Revlon Inc. on Thursday announced full year 2021 sales increased close to 10% compared to 2020, despite a revenue decline of 1.8% in the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2021.

The New York-based company said 2021 sales increased 9.2% to $2.1 billion, compared to $1.9 billion in the year ended December 31, 2020. 

The owner of Elizabeth Arden and its namesake Revlon brand said net losses narrowed during the 12 months, reporting a loss of $206.9 million in 2021, compared to a $619 million loss in the prior year. Revlon said the lower net loss was driven primarily by a $152.6 million decrease in the provision for income taxes compared to the prior-year period, as well as higher operating income.

Sales dipped in the fourth quarter, down 1.8% to $615.2 million, hurt by Elizabeth Arden declines and a plummet in the company's fragrance segment. However, the company returned to black during the quarter, reporting a net income of $9.9 million, versus a $233.8 million net loss in the prior-year period. The income swing was primarily due to the prior-year period reflecting a $201.8 million non-cash charge to the company's federal tax valuation allowance, and higher operating income over the prior-year period, the company said.

By segment, Revlon quarterly sales inched forward 0.2% to $206.1 million, while Elizabeth Arden sales dipped 4.7% to $172.6 million. Elsewhere, the company's fragrance segment plummeted 8.7%, offset by a 8.2% gain in its portfolio division, made up of mass market brands Almay, American Crew and SinfulColors, among other generic hair and beauty brands.

“Consumer demand for our brands remained strong in the fourth quarter, as evidenced by Revlon Color Cosmetics’ 30% year-over-year retail sales growth in the important U.S. mass channel," said Debra Perelman, Revlon president and CEO.

"While we saw strong consumer demand, we also continued to experience industry-wide supply chain challenges, which impacted our ability to fully meet customer orders to support this consumption. Starting in the third quarter, our business has been impacted by increased prices on key ingredients and components, logistics challenges across all modes of transportation delaying receipt of goods, and persistent labor shortages."

Quarterly sales in North America dipped 3.7%, compared with a 0.1% uptick in Revlon's international market.

"We continued to take aggressive action to protect our business by tightly managing our costs and implementing select price increases," added Perelman.

"Further, we rerouted some of our freight, significantly increased labor in our manufacturing facilities, and sourced additional vendors for key materials and components – all resulting in increased manufacturing production levels as we enter 2022."