Kimberly Clark (NYSE:KMB), the manufacturer of Huggies and Kleenex, reported a 24% year-over-year increase in adjusted earnings per share during its 3Q thanks to price increases and strong demand for its personal care products.
Adjusted EPS of $1.74 surpassed analyst estimates of $1.58, while sales for the quarter slightly missed expectations at $5.13 billion.
The company's organic sales saw a 5% rise, attributed to a 5% increase in prices as part of revenue growth management strategies, although offset by a 1% decline in volumes.
Kimberly-Clark witnessed strong performance in North America, with a 7% year-over-year rise in organic sales. The company's gross margin expanded by 530 basis points, reaching 35.8%, due to higher net revenue realization, cost savings, and lower input costs.
The company's success in increasing prices by 5% during the third quarter, coupled with only a 1% decline in volumes, reflected consumer resilience to price hikes, particularly in North America. As a result, Kimberly-Clark raised its annual adjusted earnings per share growth forecast to between 15% and 17%, up from the previous range of 10% to 14%, and revised its organic sales growth projection to 4-5% for 2023, from the earlier outlook of 3-5%.
Shares of Kimberly-Clark were down around 1.3% in early Tuesday trading at $120.37.