Prestige Brands revenues soar 50.8% in Q3 2012

Prestige Brands Holdings, a marketer and distributor of healthcare, personal care and household products, has posted a 50.8% increase in revenues to $160.2m in the third fiscal quarter ended 31 December 2012, as against $106.3m for the same quarter in the previous year.

The firm’s net income for the current quarter grew by 28.9% to $12.3m, up from $9.5m for the corresponding period in 2011.

Prestige Brands has reported a gross profit of $85m for the third quarter an increase of 54.2%, compared to $55.1m for the same period in the previous year.

Prestige Brands CEO Matthew Mannelly said the firm’s successful performance in third quarter was driven by its performance in OTC healthcare brands and cash flow from operations were $40.5m, which resulted from strong brand sales to retailers and good response from consumers in the marketplace.

"Our industry-leading and consistent cash flow from operations combined with a solid balance sheet helped us de-lever substantially in the third quarter, paying debt down by $82.5 million and continuing to build acquisition capacity," Mannelly added.

"We are raising our Adjusted EPS guidance for fiscal 2013 to $1.45-$1.48 per share from $1.37-$1.42. Cash flow from operations, which reached a record $100.9 million year-to-date, is now projected to be approximately $120-$125 million, up from the previously announced $110 million."

The firm said the revenues for the OTC healthcare segment in the third quarter grew 63.7% to $139m, compared to $84.9m for the same period in the previous year.

The rise in revenues in the OTC segment was a consequence of the effectiveness of the increased marketing and advertising support behind core OTC brands.

Prestige Brands Holdings is a US-based personal care and home cleaning products manufacturer, whose portfolio includes Cutex nail products, Chloraseptic sore throat products, Clear Eyes eye care products, Compound W wart remover, Dramamine nausea and motion sickness reliever, Efferdent oral care products and Luden’s cough and cold products, among others.