PG’s Sales Rise 10 In Fiscal Q4

The Procter & Gamble Company’s net sales grew 10% to $20.9 billion for the fourth quarter and 5% to $82.6 billion for fiscal 2011. Organic sales, which exclude the impact of acquisitions, divestitures and foreign exchange, grew 5% for the quarter and 4% for the fiscal year. Unit volume was up 3% in the fourth quarter and 6% for the fiscal year, where volume grew in all business segments, all geographic regions, and in 15 of 17 key countries.

Accordingto the company, volume growth was broad-based, with organic growth in five of six reportable segments, led by high single-digit growth in Baby Care & Family Care. All geographic regions added to volume growth, led by double-digit expansion in Asia. Unit volume increased in all reportable segments behind investments in innovation and market expansions, such as Olay and Head & Shoulders in Brazil, Gillette Guard in India, Downy fabric enhancers in Indonesia, Fusion ProGlide expansion in Western Europe, and Gain hand dishwashing liquid in the US.

“We are pleased with the strong top- and bottom-line performance in the quarter,” said chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer Bob McDonald. “We delivered organic sales growth of 5% and earnings per share growth of 18% in a challenging environment, driven by our ongoing commitment to make a difference in the everyday lives of the world’s consumers.”



Church & Dwight’s Sales Rise 5.3% in Q2
Church & Dwight Co. reported net sales for the second quarter rose 5.3% to $674.9 million. Organic sales increased 3.3%, driven by volume growth of 3.3%, with results excluding the impact of foreign exchange rate changes, acquisitions and a discontinued product line, the company said.

“We are pleased with our solid second quarter business results in what continues to be a difficult economic environment,” noted James R. Craigie, chairman and CEO. “The organic sales increase of 3.3% met the company’s expectations of 3-4% organic sales growth for the quarter. While category consumption continues to be weak in the US, we increased share on five of our eight power brands in the quarter.”

Consumer domestic sales were $482.3 million, a 3.6% gain over last year. Second quarter organic sales increased 2.1%, largely driven by higher sales of Arm & Hammer Liquid and Powder Laundry Detergents, Xtra Liquid Laundry Detergent, Arm & Hammer Cat Litter and Nair depilatories. These increases were partially offset by lower sales of value toothpastes and Oxiclean laundry additive, the company said. Volume growth contributed approximately 2.4% to net sales, offset by an 0.3% negative effect of price and product mix in the quarter.

Consumer international sales were $126.0 million, up 12.4% above the prior year second quarter sales. Organic sales, which exclude a 9.2% favorable effect of foreign exchange rate changes, increased by 3.1%, primarily reflecting increased sales in Australia and US exports.

With respect to 2011, Craigie said, “Volume growth projections continue to be strong despite the weak economy and aggressive competitive trade spending in our categories. For the first half of the year, we have gained share on five of eight of our power brands. We expect to maintain or improve this market share growth during the balance of the year due to two key factors: excellent customer response to our new products which are capturing solid distribution gains across many of our key brands, and our commitment to increasing marketing spending for the year in support of our power brands, which will continue in the second half of 2011.”

This quarter, the company is rolling out Arm & Hammer Toothtunes, a toothbrush that plays music through a patented technology that allows consumers to listen to two minutes of music while brushing their teeth. It will feature Kid’s Pop, Top 40 and Classic Rock song categories.

At the end of June, Church & Dwight completed the acquisition of the Batiste brand of dry shampoo from Vivalis in the UK. The brand holds the No. 1 position in the dry shampoo category in the UK. Annual sales of Batiste are approximately $20 million.


Fiscal 2011 Sales Rise 6.5% At Elizabeth Arden
For the year ended June 30, 2011, net sales increased 6.5% to $1.2 billion at Elizabeth Arden, Inc. For the fourth quarter, the company reported an 11.2% rise in net sales to $253.8 million.

E. Scott Beattie, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Elizabeth Arden, Inc., commented, “Our focus over the past several years has been on delivering consistent improvement in our key operating metrics. I am pleased to report that we have delivered a record year of sales and profitability…our results include solid organic growth of our brand portfolio across all of our businesses.

“Net sales within our North American business increased by 5% for the fiscal year and were driven by market share gains in our US mass business. Our international sales growth of 9% for the fiscal year benefited from strength in our European and travel retail and distributor businesses. Global sales of Elizabeth Arden branded products increased by 8%, reflecting our focus on organically growing the Elizabeth Arden brand and the re-alignment of our marketing organization to better support global brand management.”

For fiscal 2012, net sales are expected to increase by 5-6%, according to the company.


Sales Up 3.6% At Yankee Candle
Yankee Holding Corp. said second quarter sales rose 3.6% to $129.9 million. Retail sales increased 1.9% to $73.1 million, while wholesale volume fell 6.7% to $38.1 million. Sales in the company’s international segment, which is being reported as a separate business segment beginning in 2011 after previously having been included in the wholesale segment, climbed 46% to $18.7 million.

“Our second quarter results were consistent with the expectations we have communicated since the beginning of the year,” said Harlan Kent, the company’s chief executive officer. “Despite a consumer spending environment that remains very uncertain, we were able to continue to grow our sales and again saw strong performance by several of our growth platforms, including our international, consumer direct, fundraising and wholesale premium mass and department store businesses.”

For the six months ended July 2, 2011, retail sales increased 1.7% to $147.8 million. Wholesale volume fell 6% to $85.6 million. The decrease was due to lower sales to gift channel accounts and decreased sales from co-packing and licensing activities, partially offset by increased sales in premium mass and department store channels, according to the company.

International sales were $40.6 million for the first six months of fiscal 2011, an increase of 38.1% over the prior year period. The increase was driven primarily by increased sales in the company’s UK business.


Sales Rise 12.6% At Sally Beauty
Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. said fiscal third quarter consolidated net sales rose 12.6% to $836.6 million. This sales increase is attributed to same store sales growth, acquisitions and the addition of new stores.

Consolidated same store sales growth was 5.9%. Consolidated gross profit for the quarter was $410.5 million, an increase of 13.8%, according to the company.