By Jorge Mercado Tuesday, February 28th, 2023

Sales and earnings fell yet again for Olaplex Holdings, a Montecito-based hair products seller, in the fourth quarter of 2022 leading to shares dropping nearly 10% during the trading day Feb. 28.

Olaplex presented a net income of $33.6 million or 5 cents per diluted share for the quarter that ended Dec. 31, down from $69.3 million, or 11 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

Net sales also declined 21.5% in the fourth quarter, as the company generated just $130.7 million, with 28% of those sales coming from the United States.

Olaplex president and CEO JuE Wong stated that the company expected the challenges in the fourth quarter.

“Our priorities in 2023 are to reset our base and invest in our core to provide a more powerful platform for growth,” said JuE Wong, Olaplex’s president and CEO, in a press release.

Wong continued by emphasizing Olaplex’s commitment to increasing sales, marketing and education while bringing to market products the company can be proud to sell to its devoted consumer base.

“We believe the actions we are taking along with our strength in product technology, R&D and community, combined with our strong cash flow generation, will enable us to increase our leadership position in prestige haircare and return the business to grow in the future,” she said.

For the year, Olaplex sales did increase from $598.3 million to $704.2 million while net income increased from $220.7 million to $244 million.

Olaplex shares closed at $4.92 a share on Feb. 28, down 9% after the company’s earnings release. Since going public in 2021, Olaplex shares are down 75%.