Sales & Earnings In Brief
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Personal Care Drives Unilever
Anglo-Dutch firm reports personal-care segment revenue of €4.1 bil. ($5.7 bil.) for the third fiscal quarter, up 6.2% from the prior-year period, propelled by hair-care business and specifically Dove brand products Damage Therapy and Nourishing Oil Care, which features Weightless Nutri-Oil technology. Dove products were also strong in skin care, Unilever PLC says Nov. 3. Deodorant growth accelerated during the quarter as Axe Excite – which has now launched in more than 60 markets – “has established itself as one of the top performing variants.” Firm’s integration of Sara Lee Corp. and Alberto Culver “has progressed well,” CEO Paul Polman says, noting that Alberto’s TRESemme has been launched in Brazil. Unilever’s acquisition of Russian firm Concern Kalina “will significantly strengthen our business in this important market,” the chief executive says (Also see "With Kalina Acquisition, Unilever Becomes Skin-Care Leader In Russia" - HBW Insight, 24 Oct, 2011.). Overall, firm recorded €12.1 bil. ($16.7 bil.) in revenue for the quarter, representing growth of 4.9%.
Beiersdorf Sees Sales Jump In Americas
Sales in the Americas rose 12.1% to €625 mil. ($865 mil.) for the first nine months of the year, with North America posting a 5.1% growth rate, Hamburg, Germany-based Beiersdorf says Nov. 3. Organic sales in the global consumer segment were relatively flat at €3.57 bil. ($5 bil.), but face and body care saw “above average growth” over the nine-month period. “The implementation of our ‘Focus on Skin Care. Closer to Markets’ strategy, which bundles our activities to focus on our core competency, skin care, is bearing fruit,” CEO Thomas-B. Quaas says. Operating results for the consumer segment totaled €409 mil. ($566.3 mil.), down 14% compared with the same period in 2010, attributed to higher marketing spend on activities for the NIVEA brand’s 100th anniversary. On Oct. 5, firm announced Quaas will step down from the chief executive position in April 2012, to be replaced by Stefan F. Heidenreich (Also see "Analyst: Outsider Heidenreich Brings Fresh Perspective As Beiersdorf CEO" - HBW Insight, 10 Oct, 2011.).
Arden Earnings Soar 82%
New York-based fragrance marketer Elizabeth Arden Inc. posted an earnings increase of 82% in the first fiscal quarter of 2012, to $0.31 earnings per share. Firm attributes the increase to lower earnings comparisons in Q1 2011 due to the firm’s “Global Efficiency Re-engineering initiative.” Sales were up 6.6% (up 3.2% excluding positive currency translation) from the same period last year to $303.5 mil. Sales of Elizabeth Arden brand products grew 14% overall, with skin care and color cosmetics up 22%. Firm recently announced a plan to modernize its namesake brand to better position it for international growth (Also see "Arden Gives Facelift To Flagship Brand, Eyes Markets Abroad" - HBW Insight, 17 Oct, 2011.)
In the quarter, Britney Spears and Elizabeth Taylor scents were up 14% and 16% respectively. Firm launched Taylor Swift Wonderstruck during the quarter, “and we are excited by the early results,” President and CEO E. Scott Beattie says in Nov. 3 release. Arden’s international sales grew 16.6% (7.5% excluding currency effects) “driven by growth in the travel retail and distributor markets and in Asia,” and the firm’s North American unit grew by 1.6%, it says.