Kimberly-Clark Corp.
KMB,
stock was up by 2.2% in premarket trading on Tuesday after the household products maker said its second-quarter profit fell by 77%, but its revenue and adjusted profit exceeded analyst estimates. The Dallas-based company said its net income for the three months ended June 30 dropped to $102 million, or 30 cents a share, from $437 million, or $1.29 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted earnings for the latest quarter totaled $1.65 a share, well ahead of the analyst forecast of $1.48 a share, according to estimates compiled by FactSet. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue for the second quarter increased by 1% to $5.134 billion, just ahead of the analyst estimate of $5.126 billion. Organic sales were up by 5%, with a boost from a 9% increase in prices and a “favorable product mix” which was offset by a 3% drop in volume. Looking ahead, Kimberly-Clark said it now expects 2023 organic sales to increase by 3% to 5%, compared to its earlier expectation for growth of 2% to 4%. The company’s 2023 operating margin is expected to increase by up to 1.5%, compared to its previous estimate of 1.3%.
