Sales Rise 1.8% at Energizer

Energizer Holdings, Inc. posted results for the first quarter ended Dec. 31, 2011.Net earnings for the quarter rose 3% to $143.8 million. For the quarter, net sales increased 1.8% to $1.2 billion as compared to the prior year quarter due to the inclusion of American Safety Razor (ASR).

The first fiscal quarter of 2012 includes a full quarter of ASR net sales as compared to only one month in the first fiscal quarter of 2011 due to the timing of the acquisition.

For personal care, net sales were $508.6 million, while net sales in household products were $668.5 million.

Net sales in wet shave increased 15.2% including the impact of ASR and favorable currencies. Net sales in skin care increased 8.0% due to higher sales in international markets. Sales declines of approximately 5% in both feminine care and infant care partially offset the growth in wet shave and skin care.

“As we emerge from our year of investment, we see continued momentum behind Schick Hydro following the recent global launch,” said CEO Ward Klein.”We plan to continue leveraging this innovative technology with two new product roll outs in the second quarter:Schick Hydro Silk for women and Schick Hydro 5 Power Select for men.In addition, our Household Products restructuring is tracking according to our plan.

“As we look to the remainder of Fiscal 2012, we plan to balance investing in our businesses with delivering earnings growth to our shareholders.Due to increased volatility in currencies and economic uncertainty in Europe, our business environment has become more challenging.Therefore, we have tightened our guidance range for fiscal 2012 to $6.00 to $6.20, which represents a reduction in the high-end of our previous guidance.”