From a category perspective, fragrance and bath, hair care, makeup and skin care all delivered double-digit comp growth against the first quarter last year. Let's start with our first strategic priority to drive disruptive growth through an expanded definition of All Things Beauty.
Looking at our operational performance for the quarter, I will focus on the progress we are making with our consumer-facing priorities and then share an update on our optimization efforts. This consumer demand, paired with strong execution of our strategic priorities, fueled our exceptional results. And while macroeconomic pressures, such as rising inflation are top of mind for consumers, their resilience and emotional connection to beauty continues to drive the recovery of the category. Consumers continue to be highly engaged with the beauty category as they participate in more in-person activities, engage in more travel and lean into experiential spending. I want to express my sincere appreciation to all of our Ulta Beauty associates for their collaborative efforts to create great guest experiences, execute against our plans and deliver these outstanding results. We also increased the number of members in our Ultimate Rewards Loyalty Program, introduced innovative digital experiences for our guests and continued to execute major strategic projects, including investments in new stores, supply chain and technology infrastructure, all while successfully navigating supply chain challenges, a tight labor market and operating cost pressures. During the quarter, all major categories exceeded our expectations, and we increased our market share in Prestige Beauty based on point-of-sale data from the NPD Group. For the quarter, net sales increased 21% to $2.3 billion, comp sales increased 18%, operating profit increased to 18.7% of sales and diluted EPS increased 54% to $6.30 per share. Fiscal 2022 is off to an outstanding start with the Ulta Beauty team delivering another quarter of excellent performance on top of last year's record results. Actual future results may differ materially from those projected in such statements due to a number of risks and uncertainties, all of which are described in the company's filings with the SEC.
The statements contained in this conference call, which are not historical facts, may be deemed to constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Before we begin, I'd like to remind you of the company's safe harbor language. This afternoon, we announced our financial results for the first quarter.Ī copy of the press release is available in the investor relations section of our website. Hosting our call are Dave Kimbell, chief executive officer, and Scott Settersten, chief financial officer, Kecia Steelman, chief operating officer, will join us for the Q&A session. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for our discussion of Ulta Beauty financial and operational results for the first quarter of fiscal '22.