Coty makes unappealing market debut

NEW YORKShares of beauty products company Coty dropped in their first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company, known for its celebrity fragrances and OPI nail polish, fell 28 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $17.22 in late morning trading after falling as low as $16.90 earlier.

Coty Inc.'s initial public offering of about 57.1 million shares raised nearly $1 billion for some of its stockholders. The offering priced at $17.50, the midpoint of its projected range of $16.50 to $18.50 per share.

Coty won't receive any proceeds from the offering.

The underwriters have a 30-day option to buy an additional 8.6 million shares.

Coty, founded in Paris in 1904, has managed to successfully broaden its business to cover an array of personal health and beauty needs. While some consumers may not know of the company itself, they more than likely have used some of its brands, which include Rimmel, Sally Hansen and philosophy.

For its fiscal year ended June 30, Coty posted a loss of $324.4 million on $4.61 billion in revenue. Excluding one-time items, it had an adjusted profit of $301 million. For fiscal 2011, Coty reported a profit of $61.7 million on $4.09 billion in revenue.

The New York company originally filed for an IPO last year, but didn't proceed with it. Also in 2012, Coty dropped a $10.7 billion bid for Avon Products Inc. after the makeup company did not accept.

The stock is trading under the "COTY" ticker symbol.