USA: Elizabeth Arden reports largest ever quarterly loss

Elizabeth Arden’s financial woes have continued as the multinational cosmetics firm reported a net loss of $155.9 million for the fourth quarter of its financial year, compared to a loss of just $5 million for the same period of the previous year.

The results comes on the back of a $26.5 million loss in the third quarter, itself 20 times greater than in the equivalent period of 2012/13. Total annual sales of $1.164 were also 13.4% down on the previous year.

Many of Elizabeth Arden’s difficulties are said to have stemmed from poor sales of its celebrity perfumes, in particularly the Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift licences.

The company warned that it expected the weakness, which began around a year ago, to continue for the next six months. To help shore up the business, it has secured an investment from Rhone Capital LLC of $100 million through preferred stock and warrants.

Source: LSA / Reuters