Colgate-Palmolive Company CL reported fourth-quarter FY23 sales growth of 7% year-on-year to $4.95 billion, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $4.89 billion.
Total Oral, Personal, and Home Care net sales increased by 7.5% to $3.84 billion.
Base Business (non-GAAP) EPS of $0.87 beat the analyst consensus of $0.80.
GAAP Gross profit margin and Base Business Gross profit margin both increased 400 basis points to 59.6%
The company said that net cash provided by operations was $3.745 billion for the full year, up 47% versus 2022.
The company held $966 million in cash and equivalents as of December 31, 2023.
Colgate’s holding in toothpaste continued with its global market share at 41.1% year to date, while the company’s manual toothbrushes continued with its global market share at 31.5%.
The company exited the quarter with a total debt of $8.549 billion.
“We leveraged our strong margin performance to invest behind building our brands, with a 19% increase in advertising spending in 2023, and we expect higher levels of brand investment in 2024,” said Noel Wallace, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.
FY24 Outlook: The company expects FY24 net sales growth to be 1%-4%, including a low-single-digit negative impact from foreign exchange.
Colgate foresees organic sales growth to be within its long-term targeted range of 3%-5%.
On a non-GAAP basis, the company forecasts gross profit margin expansion, increased advertising investment, and mid to high-single-digit earnings-per-share growth.
Price Action: CL shares are trading higher by 2.05% at $82.89 on the last check Friday.
Photo by thetaxhaven via Flickr
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