Elizabeth Arden, Inc. has announced financial results for its second fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2010, reporting net sales of $405.6 million, an increase of 3.1%, as compared to the second quarter of the prior fiscal year. Excluding the unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation, net sales increased by 3.5%.

Net income per diluted share for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 was $1.19, as compared to net income per diluted share of $0.73 for the prior year period.

E. Scott Beattie, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Elizabeth Arden, Inc., said, “The momentum we saw in our business through the first quarter continues. Sales and earnings results were ahead of our prior guidance, driven primarily by the continued strong performance of our international business. In constant currencies, net sales of our international business increased by 12%, while net sales in North America were flat. We saw strong net sales increases in our mass retail and direct-to-consumer businesses that offset declines in our U.S. department store fragrance business, which were largely anticipated. Notably, through the second fiscal quarter, both gross margins and EBITDA margins increased by over 200 basis points on a year over year basis, underscoring the strong impact of our re-engineering initiatives.”

Beattie added, “We are pleased with the performance of our brands and the progress we are making with our key initiatives. Year to date, sales of Elizabeth Arden-branded products rose by 7% globally, while sales of our European fragrance business grew by 13%, consistent with our strategy to accelerate the growth of the Elizabeth Arden brand and increase our share of the European fragrance market.”

For the six months ended December 31, 2010, the Company reported net sales of $690.5 million, an increase of 4.9%, or an increase of 5.4% excluding the unfavorable impact of foreign currency, as compared to the prior year period.