Kimberly-Clark Beats Expectations Despite Currency Volatility
22 October 2015 - 12:09AM
Dow Jones News
By Chelsey Dulaney
Kimberly-Clark Corp.'s revenue slid less than Wall Street
expected in the third quarter, while profit came in above forecasts
despite the continued impact of currency volatility.
The Dallas-based company lifted the bottom end of its earnings
guidance for the year by 5 cents a share, to a range of $5.70 to
$5.80 a share.
But the maker of Huggies diapers, Kleenex tissue and Scott
toilet paper said it now sees currency cutting 10% to 11% off sales
for the year, compared with its previous guidance for a 10%
impact.
Excluding currency rates, Kimberly-Clark expects organic sales
to be up 4% to 5%, compared with its previous call for 3% to 5%
growth.
Kimberly-Clark has said it is trying to raise prices in some
countries to make up for the currency impacts.
In the third quarter, organic sales--which exclude acquisitions,
divestments and the effect of currency moves--grew 5%, driven by
growth in developing and emerging markets and an improvement in the
company's North American personal-care business.
In all, Kimberly-Clark reported a profit of $517 million, or
$1.41 a share, down from $562 million, or $1.50 a share, a year
earlier.
Excluding special items, per-share earnings ticked up to $1.51
from $1.50 a year earlier, helped by fewer shares outstanding.
Sales fell 6.7% to $4.72 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters forecast $1.49 a share in
earnings on $4.68 billion in revenue.
In the U.S., Kimberly-Clark has struggled over the past year to
claw back market share in Huggies diapers, which have lost ground
to Procter & Gamble Co.'s Pampers and Luvs brands.
The company's adult-incontinence products, sold under the Depend
and Poise brands, also have been under assault from P&G, which
last year re-entered the incontinence business
In the latest quarter, sales at Kimberly Clark's personal-care
segment, which includes both baby and adult diapers, slid 5% to
$2.4 billion, as a 13% currency impact offset 7% volume growth.
Sales at the consumer-tissue segment, which includes Cottonelle
and Kleenex, fell 10% to $1.5 billion. An 11% currency impact
offset 2% volume growth.
Write to Chelsey Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 21, 2015 08:54 ET (12:54 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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