New Products, Cost Cuts Boost Gillette

Reuters reported that Boston-based The Gillette Co. posted higher first quarter profit on Thursday, boosted by sales of new razors, cost cuts and the weak dollar. Over the past several years, the world’s largest maker of blades and batteries has cut costs, eliminated some factories and improved its new-product pipeline, turning around a company that had been a laggard in the consumer products industry.

Gillette posted profit of $376 million, compared with $263 million a year earlier. Sales rose 13% to $2.24 billion. The weak dollar, which boosts the value of sales in other currencies, added 7 percentage points to the sales gain, Gillette said.

The improved operations come even as Gillette faced a rejuvenated competitor in the blade and razor business, Schick-Wilkinson Sword, which was bought by Energizer Holdings Inc. last year. Razor and blade sales rose 16% to $1.04 billion, helped by sales of the Venus Divine women’s razor and Sensor3 disposable. Half the sales increase came from the weak dollar.

Sales of Oral-B toothbrushes and other oral-care products rose 7% to $315 million, due to the benefits of the weak dollar, Gillette said. Executives predict sales of the new M3Power razor and several oral care products will push sales in the second quarter, with growth moderating in the second half of the year as sales to retailers drop below sales to consumers.