Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance has announced financial results for the thirteen week period, or first quarter, ended May 1, 2010, which compares to the same period ended May 2, 2009.

For the first quarter, the company’s net sales increased 19.1% to $320.2 million from $268.8 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2009. The company says comparable store sales (sales for stores open at least 14 months) increased 10.8% compared to a decrease of 2.3% in the first quarter of fiscal 2009; pre-opening expenses decreased $0.7 million to $0.5 million in the first quarter fiscal 2010 due to the planned decrease in the company’s first quarter new store openings. During the first quarter, Ulta opened two stores located in Port Orange, FL, and Yorkville, IL, and relocated 1 store in South Aurora, CO. In addition, one store was closed.

Lyn Kirby, CEO of Ulta, stated: “We are very pleased to report an excellent start to fiscal 2010. Our first quarter performance, which included a 10.8% comparable store sales increase and a 19.1% total sales increase, accelerated from our strong fourth quarter growth and exceeded our expectations. We attribute our ongoing strength to the success of our strategies including increasing profitable market share by capitalizing on the advantages of our business model with dynamic marketing, compelling brands and providing our customers with the preferred beauty shopping experience. Our sales growth was balanced across all major categories and our comparable store sales included increases in both customer counts and average ticket. We also accomplished this with a 70 basis point increase in merchandise margin and 40 basis points of leverage in marketing. These operating improvements, along with our continued discipline in managing our cost structure, led to a more than doubling in our operating earnings and a nearly three-fold increase in earnings per share for the quarter.”

Kirby also discussed a key personnel addition. “Following quarter end, Chuck Rubin joined Ulta as President and COO,” she said. “We are delighted to have Chuck on board and are progressing toward his transition to CEO over the next few months. We continue to believe we have developed a solid foundation to achieve sustained long term growth and believe fiscal 2010 will represent another strong year for Ulta, delivering increased value for our shareholders.”