Colgate’s Profits Rise Due to New Products

Colgate-Palmolive Co., maker of products ranging from soap to dog food, on Tuesday said profit rose 10% in the second quarter as new products and the weaker dollar helped boost sales. The higher results continued a trend for Colgate, which has been helped by a pipeline of new products, including Simply White tooth-whitening gel. Higher sales and margins have allowed the company to increase advertising.

The New York-based maker of Colgate toothpaste, Irish Spring soap and a host of other products posted profit of $359.8 million, compared with $327 million a year earlier. Sales rose 7% to $2.46 billion. Most of Colgate’s sales come from outside North America, and the weak dollar boosted sales in Asia and Europe as sales in local currencies were worth more when translated to dollars. Colgate said volume, which excludes price and currency fluctuations, rose 4.5% in the second quarter on the strength of products like Simply White and Softsoap Aromatherapy body wash.

“The company’s strong profitability, widespread unit volume gains and very full new product pipeline indicates to me that 2003 should be our eighth consecutive year of double-digit earnings per share growth,” Reuben Mark, chairman and chief executive, said in a news release.

In North America, second-quarter sales rose 7.5% and profit rose 14%. In Europe, profit rose 29% on an 18% increase in sales. In Asia and Africa, sales rose 11.5% and profit rose 21%. In Latin America, where weak local currencies hurt sales, sales fell 7.5% and operating profit fell 11%.