Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA) stock fell 1.86% (As on Mar 11, 11:03:45 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company posted better than expected results for the fourth quarter of 21. During the quarter, Ulta Beauty’s major categories delivered double-digit year-over-year comp growth, led by the cycling of the prior year’s pandemic-led disruption, solid execution of holiday plans and product newness. Comps rose 21.4% against a decline of 4.8% recorded in the prior-year quarter. The metric was driven by a 10.4% improvement in transactions along with a 9.9% increase in average tickets. Transactions in the quarter gained on double-digit growth in-store traffic, while average tickets benefited from increased higher average selling price and units per transaction. Compared with fourth-quarter fiscal 2019 levels, comparable sales jumped 15.4%. Gross profit increased from $771 million to $1,027.3 million. Gross margin rose from 35.1% to 37.6%, mainly led by leverage of fixed costs, positive channel mix shifts and improvement in merchandise margins. Operating income came in at $375.6 million and the operating margin was 13.8%. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, the company had posted an operating income of $224.3 million, with the operating margin coming in at 10.2%. Ulta Beauty ended the fourth quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $431.6 million. Net merchandise inventories came in at $1.50 billion at the end of fiscal 2021. Stockholders’ equity at the end of the quarter stood at $1,535.4 million. Net cash provided by operating activities was $1,059.3 million in the 52 weeks ended Jan 29, 2022.

ULTA in the fourth quarter of 21 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $5.41, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $4.58, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 24 percent to $2.73 billion in the fourth quarter of 21, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $2.70 billion.

Additionally, the company repurchased shares worth $759.8 million during the fourth quarter and worth $1.5 billion during fiscal 2021. As of Jan 29, 2022, the company had a nominal amount left under its $1.6-billion buyback program announced in March 2020. On Mar 7, 2022, the company unveiled a new share repurchase authorization of $2 billion. During fiscal 2022, management expects to buyback approximately $900 million worth shares.

For fiscal 2022, capital expenditures are expected in the bracket of $375-$425 million.