By Chelsey Dulaney
Kimberly-Clark Corp. swung to a loss in its fourth quarter and
gave a disappointing outlook for 2015 as the consumer goods company
struggles with currency volatility and increased competition in its
diapers segment.
Kimberly-Clark said it expects to post per-share earnings of
$5.60 a share to $5.80 a share for the year, below Wall Street
expectations for $6 a share. The company forecast a negative impact
from foreign currency of 8% to 9%.
The maker of Huggies diapers has struggled in recent quarters as
parents have skewed to the high and low ends of the price spectrum.
The trend has played into the hands of rival Procter & Gamble
Co., whose premium Pampers and low-end Luvs are gaining share.
Kimberly-Clark is also facing new competition from P&G's
adult incontinence products and Japan's Unicharm Corp., which is
starting to sell pull-up diapers in Brazil. Both threaten
Kimberly-Clark's leading positions in the segments.
Overall, Kimberly-Clark posted a loss of $83 million, or 22
cents a share, compared with a profit of $539 million, or $1.40 a
share, a year earlier. The quarter included a $462 million charge
related to the remeasurement of Venezeula's currency. Excluding the
charge and other one-time items, per-share earnings rose to
$1.43.
Sales fell 1.4% to $4.83 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast per-share
earnings of $1.37 a share on revenue of $4.91 billion.
Organic sales, which exclude foreign currency fluctuations and
other adjustments, increased 3%, driven by a 7% gain in its
international segment.
Sales at the personal-care segment--which includes Huggies and
is the largest segment by revenue--fell 1% to $2.3 billion, weighed
by currency rates. Sales in North America fell 2% in the segment,
weighed by lower Pull-Ups training pants and Huggies diaper
volumes.
Sales at the consumer-tissue segment--which includes Cottonelle
and Kleenex--fell 3% to $1.6 billion.
Write to Chelsey Dulaney at chelsey.dulaney@wsj.com
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