Revlon marched toward profitability in 2007 as it kept a tight grip on costs and trimmed head count. Now, industry watchers are waiting to see if the beauty firm’s new product pipeline will reignite market share, which has stagnated over the last several years.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, cost controls and sales growth resulted in a net profit of $40.8 million, or 8 cents a diluted share, compared with a net loss of $5.5 million, or 1 cent a share, in the year-ago period. Sales ticked up 1 percent to $382.6 million from $378.9 million.

For the year, Revlon’s net loss narrowed to $16.1 million, or 3 cents a share, from a net loss of $251.3 million, or $60 cents, on sales that gained 5.2 percent to $1.40 billion from $1.33 billion.

“Revlon has done what it said it would do — cut costs and improve profitability,” said William Chappell, an analyst with SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. “It’s too early to tell if its new products will help the brand gain market share.”
For more, see Friday’s issue of WWD.