Kimberly-Clark Reports Higher Profit on Strong Tissue Sales, Cost Savings

By Matt Grossman

Kimberly-Clark Corp. on Thursday reported a higher profit in the latest quarter, driven in part by cost-saving efforts and by higher consumer-tissue sales during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Dallas-based home-goods company's second-quarter profit was $681 million, or $1.99 a share, compared with a profit of $485 million, or $1.40 a share, for the same three-month period a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, Kimberly-Clark earned $2.20 a share, the company said. Analysts had expected adjusted earnings of $1.80 a share, according to FactSet.

Kimberly-Clark's revenue in the quarter was $4.61 billion, up from $4.59 billion in the year-earlier period. Analysts had forecast revenue of $4.46 billion.

Consumer-tissue sales rose 12% year-over-year to $1.6 billion, the company said, including a 22% sales increase in North America. Growth in the segment was driven by higher demand as people stocked up during the public-health crisis, the company said.

Benefits from two cost-savings programs also boosted the company's profitability in the quarter, leading to combined savings of $175 million, Kimberly-Clark said.

Revenue in the company's personal-care segment declined by 2% to $2.2 billion, but that business's profitability increased year-over-year, boosted by cost savings and lower input costs, the company said.

Revenue in the professional segment fell 12% amid lower volumes, Kimberly-Clark said.

Write to Matt Grossman at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 23, 2020 08:24 ET (12:24 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.