Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE:KMB) shares are trading lower on Tuesday in the premarket session after the company reported first-quarter results.
Quarterly adjusted earnings per share totaled $1.93, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $1.89. Quarterly sales of $4.84 billion (down 6%) missed the street view of $4.88 billion.
“The current environment will now mean greater costs across our global supply chain versus our expectations at the beginning of the year,” warned Kimberly-Clark CEO Mike Hsu.
North America reported net sales of $2.7 billion for the quarter, reflecting a year-over-year decline of 3.9%.
International Personal Care net sales came in at $1.4 billion, down 8.9%, while International Family Products sales totaled $791 million, marking a 7.7% decrease.
Sales fell due to currency impacts, divestitures, and business exits, with an organic sales decline of 1.6% compared to the prior year.
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The quarterly adjusted gross margin was 36.9%, down 20 basis points compared to the prior year.
The company’s adjusted operating profit was $844 million. That’s down 6% versus the prior year, inclusive of an unfavorable impact from currency translation of 2.2%.
Cash and equivalents at quarter end was $563 million, and inventories totaled $1.909 billion.
Total debt was $7.2 billion as of March 31, 2025, down from $7.4 billion as of December 31, 2024.
Outlook: The company now expects its 2025 Adjusted Operating Profit to be flat to positive on a constant-currency basis. Last year, the expectation was high single-digit growth on a constant currency basis.
Reported net sales are expected to face a 200 basis point hit from currency translation, improving from the earlier estimate of 300 basis points. Additionally, divesting the PPE business and exiting the U.S. private label diaper segment will weigh on sales by another 240 basis points.
Adjusted Earnings Per share are now expected to be flat to positive on a constant-currency basis.
The company also expects adjusted free cash flow to be around $2 billion in 2025. That’s slightly lower than its earlier forecast of over $2 billion.
Price Action: KMB shares are trading lower by 4.26% to $134.10 at last check Tuesday.
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