I've been living in Michigan for more than a year now, and it's taken me that long to get a decent haircut. Maybe I should have gone to a Regis (NYSE:RGS) location instead of whipping through at least 10 barbers, most of whom should probably have their scissors and combs repossessed. It's lucky for me I like to wear baseball hats, but I have been fortunate to finally find a barber who will cut my hair well enough so I won't go into hiding until it grows back.
While I like to go to old-time barbers with the red, white, and blue spinning pole out front, many Americans have turned to franchised hair care. Regis owns or franchises more than 10,000 salons and beauty schools under brand names such as Supercuts, Jean Louis David, Vidal Sasson, Regis Salons, MasterCuts, SmartStyle, and Cost Cutters. Basically, there is a price point and stylist for every type of hair and hair care budget.
The recent rash of hurricanes has affected so many people and companies, and Regis and its employees are no exception. The global leader in the $150 million hair care industry previously lowered its first-quarter earnings guidance to $0.55 to $0.59 per share from $0.59 to $0.62. Even though the company had to temporarily close salons in harm's way of the hurricanes, it decided to support employees by paying them during their "time of need." The expenses and lack of coinciding revenue led to an obvious imbalance in earnings for the period.
Regis is still confident, however, that it will be able to achieve its objective of low- to mid-teen percentage earnings growth in fiscal 2005, with earnings projected at $2.51 to $2.59 per share. The company reported today that revenues in September grew 11% and same-store sales were up 3.2% (with 12% to 13% growth forecasted for the second quarter). CEO Paul Finkelstein said the hurricanes "reduced first quarter revenues by approximately $4 million. As a result, total revenue for the quarter was $506 million, an increase of 10%."
Same-store sales for the first quarter rose 0.9% and are expected to increase 1% to 2% in the second quarter. Regis has also projected second-quarter earnings of $0.65 to $0.68 per share, which is in line with its previous guidance and the consensus estimate of $0.67 per share.
This Fortune 1000 company, which adds about 1,000 salons and services more than 150 million clients each year, dominates one of the most steady repeat service businesses in the world. Other companies that see a great deal of repeat customers are retailers such as Target (NYSE:TGT), Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), and Costco (NASDAQ:COST), and do-it-yourself outlets such as Home Depot (NYSE:HD), Lowe's (NYSE:LOW), Pep Boys (NYSE:PBY), and AutoZone.
Despite the minimal sales and earnings shortfall, the shares of this solid company are still attractive at 14 times the fiscal 2006 earnings estimate of $2.93 per share. With a long-term growth rate of nearly 15%, a solid cash position, a healthy share of the market, and a dividend yield of 0.39%, Regis is sure to grow back.
Regis is one of Tom Gardner's recommendations in Motley Fool Stock Advisor . To learn more, subscribe today with a six-month money-back guarantee.
Fool contributor Phil Wohl spent more than 12 years on Wall Street and had a great barber across the street from his old office in downtown Manhattan. He does not own shares of any of the companies mentioned.
