Colgate-Palmolive Co. posted net income of $603 million, or 72 cents a share, for the second quarter, down from $703 million, or 83 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings also came to 72 cents, a penny ahead of the 71 cent FactSet consensus. Sales rose to $4.484 billion from $4.260 billion a year ago, ahead of the $4.350 billion FactSet consensus. “As expected, significant increases in raw and packaging material and logistics costs continued during the quarter and currencies remained volatile in many parts of the world,” Chief Executive Noel Wallace said in a statement. “We acted boldly on pricing and are accelerating our revenue growth management plans, including additional pricing, in the balance of the year.” The company raised pricing by 8.5% overall, said the statement. Colgate is still expecting full-year sales growth at the higher end of its 1% to 4% range, including a mid-single-digit impact from forex. It expects organic sales growth of 5% to 7%. It expects a decline in gross profit margin due to higher ad spend and expects double-digit EPS growth. Shares were flat premarket, but are down 7% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has fallen 15%.
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