Colgate Q3 earnings
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Increased media and commercial efforts will continue next year, but the firm intends to prioritize spending, resulting in a smaller bump compared with this fiscal year, CEO Reuben Mark says during an Oct. 20 third-quarter earnings call. Colgate recently revised its forecast to reflect lower-than-expected earnings as a result of the increased spending (1"The Tan Sheet" Sept. 27, 2004, p. 7). Worldwide sales grew 6.8% to $2.7 bil., but net income fell nearly 10% to $329 mil. North American sales in the oral, personal and home care divisions increased 3.8% to $623.3 mil., and operating profit advanced 4.7% to $137.2 mil. The firm also announced it will buy back 20 mil. shares of stock by the end of 2005...