Stock climbs 3.1% as quarterly forecast tops analyst estimates
Kimberly-Clark forecast a decline in third-quarter sales to $4.13 billion, down from $4.15 billion a year earlier, as the consumer-products company continued to absorb the fallout from a summer social-media firestorm in China over its Huggies diapers.
The company’s quarterly projection still sits above analyst estimates. Analysts polled by FactSet expect sales of $4.09 billion and adjusted earnings of $1.58 a share for the quarter, Kimberly-Clark said. The company projects adjusted earnings of $1.70 a share and an organic sales decline of 1.3% for the period.
Shares of Kimberly-Clark rose 3.1% to $102.50 in premarket trading after the announcement.
Kimberly-Clark, the maker of Huggies, also backed its latest fiscal-year outlook, which it had lowered in August following the China backlash.
The earlier reduction came after a wave of social-media attention in China over allegations that the company’s diapers contain formamide, a solvent used in a number of manufacturing processes. At the time, Kimberly-Clark said the controversy had hurt its second-quarter sales and that it expected the headwinds to continue to dent sales and profits in the near term.