Dial Reports Posts 3.9% Sales Gain in Fourth Quarter

The Dial Corporation reported net income was $24.9 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2003, a net loss of $29.2 million from last year’s period. Net sales in the fourth quarter of 2003 rose 3.9% to $346.7 million from $333.6 million in last year’s fourth quarter.

Herbert M. Baum, The Dial Corporation’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, said laundry care net sales rose 3.7%, most notably with Purex Liquid sales up 9%. Personal cleansing net sales rose 3.8% behind the first quarter of 2003 launch of new body wash fragrances for Dial and Tone and the new Coast body wash. Air freshener net sales declined 4.9% primarily due to continued weakness in candle sales and promotional timing differences for Renuzit Adjustables.

Net income for the year ended Dec. 31, 2003 rose to $125.9 million from $16.9 a year ago. Net sales increased 4.9% to $1,344.9 million from $1,282.2 million in the prior-year period. Sales in the domestic branded segment rose 3.%, while international and other segment sales were up 18.4%.

Market shares for the 52-week period ended Dec. 27, 2003 in Food Drug Mass including Wal-Mart were strong for three of Dial’s four core franchises, executives said. Specifically, Purex Laundry detergent solidified its No. 2 brand position on a volume basis achieving a 14.5% market share, a gain of 1.2 share points over year ago. Renuzit Air Fresheners outpaced category unit sales growth for the period, resulting in a 21.3% market share, up 0.9 share points from last year. The strongest performance was from Renuzit Adjustables and Renuzit Electric Scented Oil and Gel Refills.

The company’s acquisition by Henkel KgaA is expected to be complete by April.