Regis Returns To Profit In 4Q, Revenue Declines

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The hair salon operator Regis returned to a profit in its fiscal fourth quarter although a key revenue figure and a measure of customer traffic fell.

Regis, with brands including Supercuts, MasterCuts and others, earned $675,000, or 1 cent per share, for the three months ended June 30. That compares with a loss of $63.6 million, or $1.11 per share, a year ago.

Removing labor costs, a write-down tied to underperforming salons and other items, earnings were 6 cents per share.

Revenue dropped 5 percent to $502.3 million from $528.8 million.

Revenue at stores open at least a year, a key indicator of a retailer's health, declined 3.1 percent. This metric excludes results from stores recently opened or closed. While the figure fell, it was better than the 3.5 percent drop in the prior-year period.

There was a 3.4 percent drop in the number of customers during the quarter, while the average ticket price edged up less than 1 percent.

For the year, Regis Corp. earned $29.2 million, or 51 cents per share. In the previous year the company lost $114.1 million, or $2 per share. Annual revenue fell 5 percent to $2.02 billion from $2.12 billion.

Revenue at stores open at least a year dropped 2.4 percent, which was a slower decline than the 3.5 percent dropoff a year ago.

Regis owned, franchised or held ownership interests in 9,763 salons at the quarter's end. Its shares finished at $17.16 on Monday.

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