US' Kimberly-Clark reports $4.9 bn Q4 sales, organic sales up 2.3% YoY

The operating profit of the company was $548 million, including $136 million in transformation charges. Net interest expense was $53 million, 39.5 per cent higher than prior year driven by lower interest income, Kimberly-Clark said in a press release.

Diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $1.34 on a reported basis, down from $1.50 the prior year due to charges related to the company's 2024 transformation initiative. On an adjusted basis, EPS decreased 0.7 per cent to $1.50 as benefits from the growth in adjusted operating profit and lower diluted shares outstanding were offset by the reduction in income from equity companies.

The net sales in North America decreased 0.5 per cent in the fourth quarter to $2.7 billion, with organic sales increasing 1.1 per cent that were primarily driven by volume growth of 1.9 per cent.

“2024 was a breakthrough year for Kimberly-Clark with the launch of our transformative, multi-year powering care strategy and successfully rewiring our organisation into three powerhouse segments with world-class functional support,” said Mike Hsu, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) at Kimberly-Clark. “Our full-year results exceeded our new long-term growth algorithm—supported by consistent execution across the organisation—and we established a strong foundation to accelerate our strategy in 2025 and beyond.”

“We delivered organic top-line growth with an upward inflection in volume-plus-mix. This, coupled with improved productivity, has driven strong adjusted profit growth and fuelled investments to advance our competitive advantage,” added Hsu.

Full Year 2024 results

For the full year (FY) 2024, the net sales of the company were $20.1 billion, an increase of 1.8 per cent YoY, and organic sales grew 3.2 per cent YoY. The gross margin was 35.8 per cent in 2024, inclusive of $144 million, or approximately 70 bps, and the operating profit was $3.2 billion. The adjusted operating profit was $3.2 billion versus $3.0 billion in the prior year. This was an increase of 9.4 per cent versus prior year.

Diluted earnings per share (EPS) stood at $7.55 in 2024, compared to $5.21 last year, and adjusted earnings per share were $7.30 compared to $6.57 last year, an increase of 11.1 per cent, primarily reflecting the strong growth in adjusted operating profit.

In North America, FY net sales of $11.0 billion were essentially flat versus the prior year with organic sales growing 1.1 per cent driven by balanced contributions from volume and mix.

2025 Outlook

For the full year 2025, Kimberly-Clark expects organic sales to outpace the weighted average growth in the categories and countries it competes, which are currently growing at approximately two per cent. Reported net sales are forecast to reflect a negative impact of approximately 300 basis points from currency translation as well as a negative 240 basis point. Adjusted operating profit is expected to grow at a high single-digit rate on a constant-currency basis including a negative 320 basis point. The operating profit growth is also expected to be negatively impacted by approximately 300 basis points from currency translation. Adjusted EPS are expected to grow at a mid-to-high single-digit rate on a constant-currency basis including a negative 320 basis point.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)