Reuters: US Dollar Report: UPDATE 1-Colgate-Palmolive profit matches expectations

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UPDATE 1-Colgate-Palmolive profit matches expectations Apr 26th 2012, 11:30 Thu Apr 26, 2012 7:30am EDT April 26 (Reuters) - Colgate-Palmolive Co posted a higher quarterly profit on Thursday that met analysts' expectations as it increased advertising and cut costs to mitigate the impact of foreign currency fluctuations. The toothpaste maker also stood by its forecast for the year and said it remains comfortable with analysts' expectations. Colgate earned $593 million, or $1.23 per share, in the first quarter, up from $576 million, or $1.16 per share, a year earlier. Excluding charges related to cost cuts and the sale of land in Mexico, Colgate earned $601 million, or $1.24 per share, in the latest quarter. The profit matched analysts' expectations of $1.24 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Its sales rose nearly 5.2 percent to $4.20 billion, slightly better than the $4.18 billion expected by analysts. Organic sales, which strip out the impact of foreign exchange, acquisitions and divestitures, rose 6.5 percent, the largest increase Colgate has seen in seven quarters. The volume of goods sold and pricing each rose 3.5 percent. New York-based Colgate gets most of its revenue from outside the United States. While growth in Latin America, its largest market, has helped, a stronger U.S. dollar cuts into its profits. Advertising spending rose 7 percent to $448 million as Colgate spent some of the money it received from raising prices and cutting costs to promote its brands around the world. Colgate said its share of the global toothpaste market rose to 45.2 percent, up 0.8 share point from a year earlier, while its lead in manual toothbrushes rose 0.6 point to 32.7 percent. In January, Colgate said that while it still expected double-digit growth in earnings per share, it added the caveat that such growth would be on a currency-neutral basis. Colgate reiterated that forecast on Thursday and said it is still comfortable with external profit growth expectations. Analysts, on average, currently expect Colgate to earn $5.39 per share this year. Colgate competes with a variety of household products makers including Procter & Gamble Co, whose products include Crest toothpaste and Oral-B toothbrushes. P&G is set to report its quarterly results on Friday. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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