Alberto-Culver Profit Rises 31% on Stronger Sales
Author: Tess Stynes</br></br>Alberto-Culver Co., which is about to be absorbed by Unilever PLC, said fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 31%. The maker of hair-care and personal-care products saw improved sales.</br></br>The company--whose brands include TRESemme, Alberto VO5, Nexxus and St. Ives--said revenue increased 12% to $431.9 million. On an organic basis, which excludes currency fluctuations, acquisitions and divestitures, sales rose 4.9%.</br></br>For the quarter ended Sept. 30, Alberto-Culver reported a profit of $41.3 million, or 41 cents a share, up from $31.7 million, or 32 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding restructuring impacts, earnings from continuing operations climbed to 46 cents a share from 33 cents a share.</br></br>Unilever previously agreed to pay $3.7 billion to buy Alberto-Culver in a deal that will vault the consumer-products giant to a more powerful position in the U.S. beauty industry. Most household products companies--fighting a consumer spending slump in the developed world--are trying to use their scale to give them an edge.