Kimberly-Clark Reports Higher Profit on Strong Tissue Sales, Cost Savings
23 July 2020 - 10:39PM
Dow Jones News
By Matt Grossman
Kimberly-Clark Corp. on Thursday reported a higher profit in the
latest quarter, driven in part by cost-saving efforts and by higher
consumer-tissue sales during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Dallas-based home-goods company's second-quarter profit was
$681 million, or $1.99 a share, compared with a profit of $485
million, or $1.40 a share, for the same three-month period a year
earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Kimberly-Clark earned $2.20 a share, the
company said. Analysts had expected adjusted earnings of $1.80 a
share, according to FactSet.
Kimberly-Clark's revenue in the quarter was $4.61 billion, up
from $4.59 billion in the year-earlier period. Analysts had
forecast revenue of $4.46 billion.
Consumer-tissue sales rose 12% year-over-year to $1.6 billion,
the company said, including a 22% sales increase in North America.
Growth in the segment was driven by higher demand as people stocked
up during the public-health crisis, the company said.
Benefits from two cost-savings programs also boosted the
company's profitability in the quarter, leading to combined savings
of $175 million, Kimberly-Clark said.
Revenue in the company's personal-care segment declined by 2% to
$2.2 billion, but that business's profitability increased
year-over-year, boosted by cost savings and lower input costs, the
company said.
Revenue in the professional segment fell 12% amid lower volumes,
Kimberly-Clark said.
Write to Matt Grossman at matt.grossman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 23, 2020 08:24 ET (12:24 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Kimberly Clark (NYSE:KMB)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Kimberly Clark (NYSE:KMB)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024