Colgate-Palmolive's first quarter sales fell 3% to $3.88 billion. Global unit volume increased 1.0%, pricing increased 2.0% and foreign exchange was negative 6.0%. Organic sales (Net sales excluding the impact of foreign exchange, acquisitions and divestments) increased 3.0%. Despite the decline, CEO Noel Wallace put a positive spin on results.

“We are pleased with the improvement in organic sales growth this quarter and that the growth was broad based, with emerging markets and developed markets each growing 3.0%. We believe our plans to accelerate growth are beginning to pay off, as the stronger organic sales growth we delivered in the quarter had a better balance between pricing and volume growth than we saw in the fourth quarter of 2018," said Wallace.

He noted that Colgate’s leadership of the global toothpaste market continued during the quarter with global market share at 41.7% through the end of Q1. Similarly, global leadership in manual toothbrushes also continued with Colgate’s global market share in that category at 31.6%.

“As we look ahead, based on current spot rates, we continue to expect 2019 net sales to be flat to up low-single-digits, with organic sales growth of 2% to 4% as we continue to plan for increased investment behind our brands, higher pricing and strong innovation, led by the relaunches of Colgate Total and Hill’s Science Diet and our continued focus on naturals," said Wallace. "We are investing in expanding our portfolio offerings by bringing brands like elmex and meridol into new markets and by broadening our eCommerce offerings, building on our strong eCommerce growth in 2018. We are also continuing to increase our investment behind our professional skin care businesses, Elta MD and PCA Skin."