Church & Dwight Reports Q3 Earnings

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. reported that net sales for the third quarter ended Oct. 1, 2010 increased 1.7% to $656.9 million. Net income for the quarter stayed almost flat at $69.5 million, compared to last year’s $70 million.

According to James R. Craigie, chairman and chief executive officer, new product launches such as Arm & Hammer Power Gel Laundry Detergent have been key contributors to the company’s growth this year.

He commented, “We are pleased with our third quarter business results in what continues to be a difficult economic and competitive environment. Despite unit declines in most of our categories, our domestic consumer business delivered unit share increases on six of our eight power brands. In September 2010, our aggregate domestic share in measured channels was the highest of the year. We expect to end the year with momentum in our major brands.”

Craigie added, “Our focus in 2010 continues to be on increasing unit market share growth for our products. In spite of weak consumer demand earlier in 2010, we are expecting full year unit market share to improve for five to six of our eight power brands. We expect organic sales growth of approximately 3% in 2010 with volume contributing 5%, offset by price and product mix declines of approximately 2%.”