Colgate-Palmolive raises annual organic sales forecast on price hikes

(Reuters) - Colgate-Palmolive Co raised its full-year organic sales forecast on Friday, betting on consistent price hikes and steady demand for its pet nutrition products.

The company's shares rose about 2% in premarket trading after it also beat first-quarter revenue and profit expectations.

Like many consumer product makers, Colgate-Palmolive has been raising prices to battle higher raw material, packaging and labor costs resulting from pandemic-induced supply chain disruptions and the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

It has also been bolstering its pet food business, Hill's Pet Nutrition, which comprised 22% of total sales in the reported quarter and has seen resilient demand in the United States and Europe.

The company now expects full-year organic sales growth of 4% to 6%, compared with its prior expectations of 3% to 5% range.

It expects 2023 adjusted profit to grow in the mid-single-digit range, compared with its earlier forecast of low to mid-single-digit growth.

Peer Kimberly-Clark Corp also raised its full-year profit forecast on Tuesday, helped by consistent price hikes.

Colgate said sales in its oral care and personal care business in North America rose in the first quarter, but organic sales declined in its home-care segment due to the voluntary recall of its Fabuloso multi-purpose cleaners in February.

While that pulled down its total organic volumes by 2%, this was more than offset by a 12% increase in prices.

Colgate-Palmolive's revenue rose over 8% to $4.77 billion in the quarter ended March 31, beating analysts' average estimate of $4.58 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

Its adjusted earnings per share of 73 cents also topped analysts' expectations of 70 cents.

(Reporting by Anne Florentyna Gnanaraja Sekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)

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