US' Kimberly-Clark's sales down 0.6% to $4.1 bn in Q4

Gross margin was 35.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, compared to 35.2 per cent in the prior year, inclusive of $44 million, or approximately 110 basis points, and $68 million, or approximately 170 basis points, respectively, of charges related to the 2024 Transformation Initiative. Excluding these charges, adjusted gross margin was 37.0 per cent, in line with the prior year as strong productivity savings and volume growth were offset by unfavourable pricing net of cost inflation, reflecting planned investments to improve price:value tiers across the portfolio.

Operating profit was $507 million compared to $420 million in the prior year, inclusive of charges of $122 million and $136 million, respectively, for certain items that management does not believe reflect our underlying and ongoing operations. Excluding these items, adjusted operating profit was $629 million compared to $556 million, an increase of 13.1 per cent driven by strong productivity savings and lower marketing, research and general expenses, the company said in a press release.

Net sales of $16.4 billion were 2.1 per cent lower in 2025 than the prior year primarily due to a 2.9 per cent negative impact from a combination of the PPE divestiture and the exit of the company's private label diaper business in the US, as well as a 0.9 per cent negative impact from foreign currency translation. Organic sales grew 1.7 per cent driven by a 2.5 per cent increase in volume, partially offset by price investments of 0.9 per cent, while portfolio mix was broadly in line with a year ago.

In 2025, gross margin was 36 per cent compared to 37.4 per cent in the prior year, inclusive of $213 million, or approximately 130 basis points, and $144 million, or approximately 85 basis points, respectively, of charges related to the 2024 Transformation Initiative. Excluding these charges, adjusted gross margin was 37.3 per cent, a decrease of 100 basis points versus the prior year as strong productivity gains were more than offset by unfavorable pricing net of cost inflation, reflecting planned investments to improve price:value tiers across the portfolio, as well as incremental tariff-related costs.

Operating profit was $2.4 billion compared to $2.7 billion in the prior year, inclusive of net charges of $380 million and $27 million, respectively, for certain items that management does not believe reflect our underlying and ongoing operations.

"In 2025, we accelerated the largest transformation in Kimberly-Clark's more than 150-year history, delivering results that underscore the strength of our business and serve as a springboard for enhanced growth and continued outperformance in 2026," said Kimberly-Clark chairman and CEO Mike Hsu. "We delivered pioneering innovation across the value spectrum, breakthrough creative storytelling that strengthened brand love, and superior execution that fueled our second consecutive year of broad-based, share gain-led volume-plus-mix growth. We've also maintained a relentless focus on cost discipline as we successfully pivot our portfolio to higher growth, higher margin personal care categories."

"Acquiring Kenvue is a powerful next step in our transformation that will compound the momentum we're already delivering across Kimberly-Clark. Importantly, it will also enable us to raise the standard of care for billions of people around the world," Hsu continued. "We are making strong progress on our integration planning efforts and look forward to delivering on this unique opportunity to create generational value for Kimberly-Clark shareholders."

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RR)