Kimberly-Clark Hit by Currency Impacts
October 21 2015 - 9:20AM
Dow Jones News
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 09:05 ET (13:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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