• Kimberly Clark Corp (NYSE:KMB) reported third-quarter FY21 sales growth of 7% year-on-year, to $5.01 billion, beating the analyst consensus of $4.99 billion.
• Sales from the personal care segment revenue rose 14% Y/Y, the Consumer tissue segment decreased 5%, and K-C professional segment climbed 13%.
• The gross profit fell 7% Y/Y to $1.4 billion, with the profit margin contracting 435 basis points to 29.6%.
• The operating margin was 13.1%, and operating income for the quarter declined 1.3% to $657 million.
• Adjusted EPS of $1.62 missed the analyst consensus of $1.65.
• Kimberly Clark held $286 million in cash and equivalents as of September 30, 2021. Net cash provided by operating activities totaled $782 million in Q3.
• "Our earnings were negatively impacted by significant inflation and supply chain disruptions that increased our costs beyond what we anticipated," said CEO Mike Hsu.
• Outlook: Citing higher input cost inflation, Kimberly Clark has cut its FY21 adjusted EPS outlook to $6.05 - $6.25 (prior view $6.65 - $6.90) against the consensus of $6.70.
• Organic sales decline of 1% - 2% (prior outlook decline of 0% - 2%).
• Price Action: KMB shares are trading lower by 3.47% at $128.43 in premarket on the last check Monday.