Dallas, April 23, 2024 – Kimberly-Clark Corporation has announced robust first quarter 2024 results, highlighting significant volume and mix gains due to innovative new products and sustained productivity momentum.
“We delivered an encouraging set of first-quarter results as we embark on this next chapter of growth for Kimberly-Clark,” said Chairman and CEO Mike Hsu. “I’m very thankful for the strong execution from our teams around the world who are making this happen.”
Hsu emphasized that the company’s innovation pipeline drove sequentially stronger gains from volume-plus-mix.
“We continued our strong productivity momentum through our efforts to optimize our margin structure, and we are making good progress focusing our enterprise as we advance the implementation of our new operating model. We’re excited about our opportunities to capitalize on this momentum on a global level, enabling us to deliver long-term value for our stakeholders.”
Key Highlights:
- Sales: First-quarter sales were $5.1 billion, a 1 percent decrease from last year. This included a 5 percent negative impact from foreign currency translation and a 1 percent impact from divestitures. Organic sales, however, rose by 6 percent, driven by a 4 percent price increase, a 1 percent favorable product mix, and a 1 percent volume increase.
- North America: Organic sales increased by 3 percent, with 2 percent growth in Personal Care and 6 percent growth in Consumer Tissue.
- Developing and Emerging Markets: Organic sales surged by 15 percent, reflecting both pricing gains and volume/mix improvements.
- Developed Markets: Organic sales decreased by 2 percent, mainly due to lower pricing in Western Europe.
- Operating Profit: The first-quarter operating profit was $853 million, including $45 million in transformation costs. Adjusted operating profit increased by 14 percent despite a 12 percentage point negative impact from currency translation.
- EPS: Diluted earnings per share (EPS) increased by 14 percent to $1.91. Adjusted EPS grew by 20 percent to $2.01, driven by higher adjusted operating profit and lower net interest expenses.
Segment Performance:
- Personal Care: Sales were stable at $2.7 billion, with organic sales up 10 percent. First-quarter operating profit increased by 12 percent.
- Consumer Tissue: Sales dropped by 2 percent to $1.6 billion due to divestitures, but North American organic growth was strong. Operating profit rose by 21 percent.
- K-C Professional (KCP): Sales decreased by 3 percent to $823 million, but organic sales grew by 2 percent. Operating profit increased by 18 percent.
Outlook for 2024:
Kimberly-Clark has revised its 2024 outlook, expecting mid-single-digit growth in organic net sales, up from low-to-mid-single digits. Adjusted operating profit and adjusted EPS are now expected to grow at low-teens percentage rates on a constant-currency basis.
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