Colgate-Palmolive Co.’s
CL,
fourth-quarter results beat analysts’ top and bottom-line expectations before market open Friday. The company earned 1 cents a share, compared with 18 cents a share in the year-ago quarter, impacted by goodwill and impairment charges related to the Filorga skin care business. On an adjusted basis, the consumer goods giant reported earnings of 77 cents a share, above the FactSet consensus of 76 cents a share. Colgate-Palmolive’s fourth-quarter sales were $4.629 billion, compared with $4.403 billion in the year-ago quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were looking for sales of $4.594 billion. “Net sales increased 5.0% in the fourth quarter, and organic sales grew 8.5% with growth in every division and in all four of our categories, despite challenging macroeconomic conditions worldwide,” said Colgate-Palmolive CEO Noel Wallace, in a statement. Colgate-Palmolive now sees 2023 sales up 2% to 5% and 2023 EPS up in low to mid-single digits. Despite the top and bottom line beat, Colgate-Palmolive’s stock fell 3.2% before market open.
