UPDATE 2-Helen of Troy Q4 profit beats Wall Street; shares jump

(Recasts; adds background, comments from conference call, analyst comments, share movement)

By Anne Pallivathuckal

BANGALORE, May 13 (Reuters) - Personal-care products maker Helen of Troy Ltd (HELE.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted fourth-quarter earnings that edged past Wall Street targets as strong sales growth in the housewares segment offset a drop in revenue in its personal care business, sending its shares up as much as 9 percent.

Helen of Troy, which sells products under several brands including Vidal Sassoon and Revlon, posted net income of $10.3 million, or 33 cents a share, up from $9.7 million, or 30 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales were almost flat at $144.1 million. Analysts expected earnings of 29 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $143.9 million for the quarter ended Feb 29, according to Reuters Estimates.

Since hitting a 52-week high of $29.26 in July last year, shares of the company had lost half their value to touch a 52-week low of $14.56 in January as rising fuel prices and a slowing economy savaged U.S. retail markets.

But since hitting the January low, the stock has recovered about 25 percent as the company has focused on introducing new products, changing suppliers and increasing prices to cut costs.

"I think that this company is weathering the storm very well," Jefferies & Co analyst Douglas Lane said from Boston.

Lane said that despite the sluggish U.S. economy, earnings grew last year and the company, which competes with Lifetime Brands (LCUT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), industry leader Procter & Gamble (PG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and privately held Conair, is not losing market share.

Fourth-quarter sales at Helen of Troy's housewares segment, which includes cleaning, gardening and kitchen tools, and storage and organization products, grew 21.9 percent to $44.0 million on the strength of its OXO brand.