When it comes to skincare, 2021 is shaping up to be a gorgeous year. The Beauty Health Company (NASDAQ: SKIN) reported first-quarter results and raised full year sales guidance this week as demand for its HydraFacial skin treatment came roaring back with businesses reopening worldwide.
In an interview with IPO Edge, BeautyHealth CEO Clint Carnell and CFO Liyuan Woo explained why they are confident in the business and are glad they “doubled down” while aestheticians were temporarily unable to offer HydraFacial treatments.
HydraFacial is back to an approximately 80{efe5d79870c08482e17ab0c97855f89429dac5f22c46026d3ca83573faec2208} operating level at spas around the world, but some locations have opened much faster than others. “China and Japan are on fire,” Ms. Woo said. “But then Britain was closed down for a lot of the first quarter. It’s really like a tale of three cities.”
Despite the frustration of the pandemic, Mr. Carnell said there was a silver lining: People now pay more attention to health and beauty. He pointed out that people spent much more time at home and often had to stare at their own faces in Zoom meetings, making them more aware of how they look.
“I believe that beauty and health got stronger during the pandemic,” Mr. Carnell said. “The reopening trade is the cherry on top.”
BeautyHealth raised full-year revenue guidance to $200 million, up about 10{efe5d79870c08482e17ab0c97855f89429dac5f22c46026d3ca83573faec2208} from the previous forecast of $181 million. The company held its Ebitda forecast steady at $25 million, which gives it room to reinvest in the business as revenue rises.
Investors were pleased with the results, bidding shares of BeautyHealth 5{efe5d79870c08482e17ab0c97855f89429dac5f22c46026d3ca83573faec2208} higher in midday trade Friday. That puts the shares up about 25{efe5d79870c08482e17ab0c97855f89429dac5f22c46026d3ca83573faec2208} from the $10 IPO price of Vesper Healthcare Acquisition Corp., which recently closed its merger with BeautyHealth to bring the company public.
Indeed, BeautyHealth has performed well relative to many pre-revenue companies that have recently gone public through SPAC mergers. Many of the SPAC deals backed by Chamath Palihapitiya have fallen sharply from their highs as investors worry about valuations tied to very high sales multiples
Mr. Carnell also emphasized the strong structural tailwinds supporting the business. While men account for 25{efe5d79870c08482e17ab0c97855f89429dac5f22c46026d3ca83573faec2208}-30{efe5d79870c08482e17ab0c97855f89429dac5f22c46026d3ca83573faec2208} of all sales, they are roughly fifty-fifty with women in HydraFacial’s youngest cohort – Gen Z.
“The generational trend portends well for us,” Mr. Carnell said. “We also are happy to see more and more people of color.”
IPO Edge published a detailed analysis of the business, which can be read here.
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