Colgate-Palmolive shares flat as better-than-expected earnings offset by worry about costs

Colgate-Palmolive Co. shares were flat in premarket trading Friday.The company beat estimates for the third quarter but said it expects the "difficult cost environment" to continue for several quarters. The consumer goods company posted net income of $634 million, or 75 cents a share, for the quarter, down from $698 million, or 81 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 81 cents, ahead of the 80-cent FactSet consensus. Sales rose to $4.414 billion from $4.153 billion a year ago, also ahead of the $4.399 billion FactSet consensus. The company retained its leading global market share in the toothpaste market of 39.5% and its leading global market share of the manual toothbrush market of 31.0%. "Net income and earnings per share both increased on a Base Business basis, despite significant increases in raw material and logistics costs," CEO Noel Wallace said in a statement. "We expect the difficult cost environment to continue for the next several quarters and we remain sharply focused on our funding the growth and revenue growth management initiatives, including additional pricing." The company is now expecting full-year sales growth of 4% to 7% and for its EPS to come in at the low end of its low to mid-single-digit range. Shares have fallen 10% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 22%.