Kimberly-Clark (K-C) has said its latest net sales result of $5.0bn on 1% organic sales growth reflect “strong execution” across the business as it “transforms” its organisation.
Third quarter sales of $5.0bn were 4% lower than the prior-year period, including negative impacts of 3% from foreign currency translation and 1% from the divestiture of the K-C Professional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) business completed in July 2024.
Organic sales increased 1%, which the business said was driven by a 1% increase in price while volume and mix were in line with a year ago.
In North America, organic sales decreased 1% versus the prior year, driven by a 3% decline in K-C Professional and 1% in Consumer Tissue while Personal Care was in line with year ago.
In D&E markets, organic sales rose 8% reflecting pricing gains primarily in hyperinflationary economies.
Third quarter operating profit was $1.2bn, including $565m of gains from the divestiture of the PPE business.
Chairman and Chief Executive Mike Hsu said: “Our third quarter results reflect strong execution across the business as we transform our organisation.
“I’m very proud of our teams’ ability to deliver organic top-and-bottom-line growth, driven by market share gains and improved productivity, even against the backdrop of a dynamic consumer environment.”
Hsu added the business is accelerating its innovation pipeline and “reducing costs to deliver higher-quality consumer solutions for every price point and simplifying our operational structure so that we can be faster and more responsive in our markets.”
“We are on track to deliver strong operating profit, margin, and EPS growth in 2024 while investing to maintain our business momentum into 2025,” he said.
