Helen of Troy posts better-than-expected 1Q profit

Personal care products maker Helen of Troy Ltd. reported a 45 percent drop in fiscal first-quarter earnings Tuesday mostly due to one-time charges, but higher housewares sales helped push adjusted profit above Wall Street expectations.

Shares of Helen of Troy rose $2.46, or 15.6 percent, to close at $18.28 on more than double average volume. The stock has traded between $14.56 and $29.26 during the past 52 weeks.

For the quarter ended May 31, net income fell to $5.6 million, or 18 cents per share, from $10.1 million, or 32 cents per share, a year ago. Most of that drop was due to an impairment charge on the company's trademarks and a bad debt charge related to a customer bankruptcy filing. The company also gained $2.6 million from a casualty insurance related to a warehouse fire in Latin America.

Excluding those one-time items, earnings were up nearly 29 percent to $13 million, or 42 cents per share, in the latest period _ easily beating analysts' average estimate of 30 cents per share, according to a Thomson Financial poll.

Sales climbed 3 percent to $145 million from $140.2 million, as sales of household products jumped 15 percent on continued strength in OXO brands, which include vegetable slicers and potato mashers. Sales in the company's personal care segment, which includes hair dryers, mirrors and other items, fell less than 1 percent due to the slowing retail environment.

Helen of Troy sells licensed products under the Vidal Sassoon, Revlon and Dr. Scholl's names, as well as its own brands.