Shiseido Co. Ltd. on Feb. 7 lifted its forecast for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2017, citing "strong business results."
The Japanese cosmetics company now expects attributable net income to come in at ¥22.5 billion, a 350% jump from the previous forecast of ¥5 billion announced Nov. 9, 2017. The revised EPS forecast now stands at ¥56.33, compared to the previous estimate of ¥12.52 and the current S&P Capital IQ consensus estimate of ¥28.60.
It is also predicting net sales of ¥1.005 trillion, a 2% bump from the previous forecast of ¥985 billion. Operating income is expected to reach ¥80.5 billion, a 23.8% increase from the earlier guidance of ¥65 billion.
This marks the third time that the company has revised its fiscal 2017 guidance, after slashing it twice in November 2017.
In the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2016, Shiseido recorded attributable net income of ¥32.1 billion, EPS of ¥80.41, net sales of ¥850.31 billion and operating income of ¥36.78 billion.
Shiseido also reported that its net sales for fiscal 2017 are expected to break the ¥1 trillion mark for the first time in company history, partly driven by rapid global expansion of prestige brands and growth in Japan, China and travel retail.
The sales increase, coupled with lower sales costs, were expected to contribute to the higher operating income forecast.
In addition, the company noted the revised forecast of attributable net income was due to lower tax expenses following U.S. tax reform at 2017-end, as well as lower-than-expected tax expenses on gain from the sale of its U.S. hair care unit Zotos International Inc.
As of Feb. 6, US$1 was equivalent to ¥109.14.
