Kimberly-Clark Sees 1% Sales Increase In Third Quarter Published on Oct 24 2017 9:40 AM in A-Brands tagged: Featured Post / Kleenex / Huggies / Kimberly-Clar Kimberly-Clark, the producer of Huggies and Kleenex, has posted net sales of $4.6 billion during its third quarter, representing a 1% increase year on year. In North America, organic sales on consumer products rose by nearly 1%. Elsewhere, organic sales in developing and emerging markets were up by 3%, however, they fell by 3% in developed markets. "We delivered bottom-line growth in the third quarter in a challenging environment," said Thomas J. Falk, chairman and chief executive of Kimberly-Clark. "We also achieved $125 million of cost savings and reduced discretionary spending to help offset inflationary cost headwinds. In addition, we returned more than $500 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases." Quarterly Performance Third quarter sales in Kimberly-Clark's personal care segment fell 1% to $2.3 billion, with lower volumes of Huggies diapers and feminine care products. However, sales in the consumer tissue segment increased 3% to $1.5 billion. Volumes rose by around 4% and currency rates were favourable by 1%, which offset lower selling prices. In the K-C Professional segment, sales were up by 3% to $0.8 billion, with increases seen across all markets. Overall, these figures bring the company's sales for the first nine months of the year to $13.7 billion, which is essentially even with the same period last year. Outlook Kimberly-Clark says it continues to expect that full year net sales and organic sales for 2017 will be similar, or up slightly, year-on-year. The company also anticipates earnings per share will be at the lower end of its target range of $6.20 to $6.35. "We are confirming our previous full-year 2017 outlook and we continue to execute our Global Business Plan strategies for long-term success," added Falk.