Helen of Troy Corp. on Thursday reported stronger-than-projected second-quarter results and raised the low end of its financial projections for the year.

The maker of Hot Tools hair stylers and Brut aftershave now projects profit, less certain items, of $5.50 to $5.85 a share on revenue between $1.5 billion and $1.54 billion, compared with its earlier view of $5.40 to $5.85 a share on $1.49 billion to $1.54 billion of revenue.

Shares, up 45% this year, rose 8.2% in late trading to $102.49, topping the 52-week-high of $100.33 set on June 26 during regular trading.

Overall, Helen of Troy reported a profit of $24.5 million, or 84 cents a share, up from $18.8 million, or 65 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding certain items, profit rose to $1.12 a share, from 99 cents a share a year earlier.

Revenue rose 15% to $369.1 million.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected $1.02 a share on revenue of $337.7 million.

The company's nutritional supplements segment—formed from its acquisition of Healthy Directions last year—added $38 million in sales.

Gross margin narrowed to 40.1% from 41.8%, largely due to the stronger U.S. dollar, the company said.

Founded in 1968 as a wig shop in downtown El Paso, Texas, Helen of Troy has grown into a personal-care products behemoth, whose brands include Revlon, Dr. Scholl's, Vicks, Braun, Febreze and OXO.

One of the original "inverters"--companies that relocate their headquarters abroad to lower taxes—Helen of Troy reorganized into a Bermuda-based company in 1993. In response, the U.S. Treasury adopted in 1996 what became known as the Helen of Troy rule, requiring shareholders to pay gains on shares converted into stock in the new company.

Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 08, 2015 17:55 ET (21:55 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024 Click Here for more Helen of Troy Charts.
Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024 Click Here for more Helen of Troy Charts.