Dow Jones Newswires | Alberto-Culver Co.’s fiscal second-quarter
earnings rose 7.3 percent as the personal-care-products maker’s revenue
was boosted by its TRESsemme brand and currency fluctuations, while
lower commodities costs helped boost margins. However, the profit fell
short of Wall Street estimates.

Alberto-Culver has benefited from its Noxzema acquisition and its portfolio of low-priced staples, but faces pressure from heightened promotions and introductions of lower-priced products by bigger rivals.

For the quarter ended March 31, Alberto-Culver reported a profit of $30.1 million, or 30 cents a share, up from $28.1 million or 28 cents, a year earlier. Excluding items such as restructuring-related charges, earnings from continuing operations climbed to 31 cents from 28 cents.

Alberto-Culver, whose brands also include Nexxus and St. Ives, said revenue increased 12 percent to $384.8 million, but increased just 1.2 percent excluding the effects of currency fluctuations and acquisitions.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently forecast earnings of 36 cents on revenue of $384 million.

Gross margin rose to 52.2 percent from 50.3 percent, due primarily to lower commodities costs, partly offset by increased trade promotions and costs related to manufacturing and supply-chain disruptions. Advertising and marketing costs rose 21 percent.

Revenue fell 1.7 percent in the U.S. , despite strong growth at its TRESemme brand. International revenue jumped 39 percent, with the vast majority of the growth attributed to currency fluctuations.

Shares closed Friday at $28 and were inactive premarket. The stock is down 4.4 percent this year.