Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) has reported second-quarter earnings that beat expectations as it benefited from price increases and maintained its leadership positions for toothpaste and manual toothbrushes.
The company said its leadership in the toothpaste category continued, with its global market share at 40.5% year to date. It also claimed a leading 30.4% share of the manual toothbrush market.
Net sales rose 7.5% to $4.8 billion, with organic sales rising by 8% supported by all four of its categories.
Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) increased by 7% to $0.77, beating analysts’ consensus forecast for EPS of $0.75.
“We believe we are well positioned to continue to drive top and bottom line growth through the balance of 2023 as our gross margin expansion, driven by sustained pricing and the benefits from funding-the-growth and other productivity initiatives, allows us to invest behind our brands,” chairman and CEO Noel Wallace said in a statement.
“Advertising spending increased significantly in the quarter to drive brand health and in support of our strong innovation and pricing activity. Strong investment levels should continue in the back half of the year as we work to deliver balanced organic sales growth.
The company has guided investors for full-year 2023 net sales growth of 5% to 8%, with underlying EPS growth at the high end of mid-single-digits.
Its shares rose 0.3% to $77.30 in Friday pre-market trading.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com