Kimberly-Clark Delivers Solid Results in First Year of Transformation

Kimberly-Clark Corporation has reported fourth quarter and full year 2024 results that illustrated the strength of its innovation-led growth model, driving volume gains, improving product mix, and generating significant efficiencies enabling reinvestment in its brands, new capabilities, and generating attractive returns to its shareholders.

"2024 was a breakthrough year for Kimberly-Clark with the launch of our transformative, multi-year Powering Care strategy and successfully rewiring our organization into three powerhouse segments with world-class functional support," said Kimberly-Clark Chairman and CEO, Mike Hsu. "Our full-year results exceeded our new long-term growth algorithm - supported by consistent execution across the organization - and we established a strong foundation to accelerate our strategy in 2025 and beyond."

"We delivered organic top-line growth with an upward inflection in volume-plus-mix. This, coupled with improved productivity, has driven strong adjusted profit growth and fueled investments to advance our competitive advantage." Hsu continued. "We're excited about this new chapter of Kimberly-Clark, and we look forward to building on our momentum and enhancing value for all stakeholders."

Quarter Highlights

Delivered net sales of $4.9 billion, down 0.8 percent, with organic sales growth of 2.3 percent.
Gross margin was 34.0 percent. Adjusted gross margin was 35.4 percent, up 50 basis points versus the prior year with strong productivity gains partly offset by investments and manufacturing cost headwinds.
Operating profit for the quarter was $548 million, while adjusted operating profit was $684 million up 2.1 percent versus the prior year with higher adjusted gross margin enabling higher investments.
Diluted earnings per share were $1.34; adjusted earnings per share were $1.50, down 0.7 percent versus prior year driven primarily by lower equity income offset by higher adjusted operating profit.

Fourth Quarter 2024 Results

Fourth quarter sales of $4.9 billion were down 0.8 percent, with organic sales up 2.3 percent, driven by the highest quarterly volume growth of the year at 1.5 percent, a 0.6 percent increase in price from ongoing revenue growth management programs and a 0.1 percent contribution from favorable product mix. All segments grew volume in the quarter. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates reduced sales by approximately 1.7 percent and the divestiture of the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) business reduced sales by approximately 1.4 percent.

Gross margin was 34.0 percent in the quarter, inclusive of $68 million, or approximately 140 basis points, of charges related to the 2024 Transformation Initiative. Excluding these charges, adjusted gross margin was 35.4 percent, up 50 basis points versus the prior year driven by strong productivity savings and volume gains that were partly offset by higher manufacturing costs and supply chain investments, as well as unfavorable pricing net of input cost inflation due to the timing of price and cost realization.

Fourth quarter operating profit was $548 million, inclusive of 2024 Transformation Initiative charges and other items not reflective of our underlying operations totaling $136 million, compared to $670 million last year. Excluding these items, adjusted operating profit was $684 million up 2.1 percent versus the prior year including an unfavorable impact from currency translation of 1.8 percent and an unfavorable impact from divestitures of 1.8 percent. This reflected the increase in adjusted gross profit dollars that was partly offset by planned increases in marketing, research, selling and general expenses.

Net interest expense was $53 million, 39.5 percent higher than prior year driven by lower interest income.

Fourth quarter effective tax rate was 14.8 percent. On an adjusted basis, the effective rate in the fourth quarter was 25.2 percent, in line with the prior year.

Net income of equity companies was $44 million compared to $53 million last year, primarily driven by the adverse impact of currency translation on earnings related to Kimberly-Clark de Mexico.

Diluted EPS in the quarter were $1.34 on a reported basis, down from $1.50 the prior year due to charges related to the company's 2024 Transformation Initiative. On an adjusted basis, EPS decreased 0.7 percent to $1.50 as benefits from the growth in adjusted operating profit and lower diluted shares outstanding were offset by the reduction in income from equity companies.

Full Year 2024 Results

2024 net sales of $20.1 billion were 1.8 percent lower than the prior year due to negative impacts of approximately 3.8 percent from foreign currency translation and 1.2 percent from divestitures. Organic sales grew 3.2 percent, driven by an approximately 1.9 percent increase in price, primarily in hyperinflationary economies, a 0.8 percent increase in volume and a 0.4 percent benefit from favorable product mix.

2024 gross margin was 35.8 percent, inclusive of $144 million, or approximately 70 basis points, of charges related to the 2024 Transformation Initiative. Excluding these charges, 2024 adjusted gross margin was 36.5 percent, a meaningful expansion of 200 basis points versus the prior year driven by strong productivity savings, favorable pricing net of cost inflation, volume and mix led gains partly offset by manufacturing cost headwinds.

2024 operating profit was $3.2 billion, including $565 million of gains from the divestiture of the company's PPE business, and $456 million of charges related to the company's 2024 Transformation Initiative.

2024 adjusted operating profit was $3.2 billion versus $3.0 billion in the prior year. This was an increase of 9.4 percent versus prior year and included an unfavorable impact of 6.2 percentage points from currency translation, primarily driven by hyperinflationary economies. Excluding these impacts, the growth in adjusted operating profit was driven by a combination of organic growth, strong productivity savings, and favorable pricing net of input cost inflation that were partly offset by supply chain related investments and planned increases in marketing, research and general expenses.

In 2024, diluted earnings per share were $7.55 compared to $5.21 last year. 2024 adjusted earnings per share were $7.30 compared to $6.57 last year, an increase of 11.1 percent, primarily reflecting the strong growth in adjusted operating profit.

North America (NA)

North America net sales of $2.7 billion decreased 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter, with organic sales increasing 1.1 percent that were primarily driven by volume growth of 1.9 percent.

FY net sales of $11.0 billion were essentially flat versus the prior year with organic sales growing 1.1 percent driven by balanced contributions from volume and mix. Growth was driven by Adult Care and Baby and Child Care with innovation and strong commercial execution driving share gains in both the fourth quarter and full year.

Fourth-quarter operating profit of $548 million decreased 10.0 percent versus the prior year reflecting strong productivity gains that were more than offset by a combination of a planned, double-digit increase in marketing, greater strategic capability spending, incremental manufacturing and distribution costs associated with temporary supply chain disruptions, and unfavorable pricing net of cost inflation due to the timing of price and cost realization.

Operating profit for the year increased 1.1 percent to $2.5 billion driven by strong productivity savings, contributions from volume and mix and modestly favorable price net of cost inflation partly offset by manufacturing cost headwinds, investments in advertising and product improvement.

International Personal Care (IPC)

IPC net sales of $1.4 billion decreased 1.3 percent in the quarter, while organic sales were up 5.3 percent reflecting price gains of 4.1 percent and a volume increase of 0.9 percent. Pricing in the quarter was driven primarily by hyperinflationary economies while volume growth was driven by double-digit volume growth in China.

FY net sales of $5.7 billion decreased 3.1 percent while organic sales grew 9.2 percent reflecting pricing in hyperinflationary economies, volume growth driven by double-digit volume growth in China, as well as gains from product mix versus the prior year.

Fourth-quarter operating profit of $155 million increased 36.0 percent driven primarily by lower impact from monetary losses from hyperinflationary economies. Strong productivity savings and favorable pricing net of cost inflation fueled greater investments in advertising and selling expenses.

Operating profit for the year increased 24.5 percent to $787 million driven by lower monetary losses from hyperinflationary economies, favorable price net of cost inflation and strong productivity savings partly offset by unfavorable currency translation, manufacturing cost headwinds and investments in advertising and product improvement.

International Family Care & Professional (IFP)

IFP net sales of $831 million decreased 1.2 percent in the quarter, while organic sales increased 0.7 percent with volume growing 1.0 percent offset by negative price of 0.5 percent. Volume growth was driven by growth in Family Care in Western & Central Europe and Australia.

FY net sales of $3.3 billion decreased 5.9 percent primarily driven by a 4.4 percent impact from divestitures and business exits. Organic sales were broadly flat versus the prior year with volume growth of 1.5 percent offset by negative price of 2.0 percent which was driven by lapping of temporary energy related surcharges in Europe.

Fourth-quarter operating profit of $89 million increased 30.9 percent with gains from productivity savings, volume growth and better utilization of assets that more than offset investments in advertising and a planned increase in research, selling and general expenses.

Operating profit for the year increased 31.4 percent to $377 million driven primarily by strong productivity savings during the year.

Cash Flow and Balance Sheet

Full-year cash provided by operations was $3.2 billion compared to $3.5 billion last year. 2024 capital spending was $721 million compared to $766 million last year. The company returned $2.6 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. The company completed share repurchases of 7.2 million shares at a cost of $1.0 billion in 2024. Total debt was $7.4 billion as of December 31, 2024 compared to $8.0 billion at the end of 2023.

2025 Outlook

Consistent with the Company's long term growth algorithm, it currently expects 2025 Organic Sales Growth to outpace the weighted average growth in the categories and countries it competes, which are currently growing at approximately two percent. Reported Net Sales are forecast to reflect a negative impact of approximately 300 basis points from currency translation as well as a negative 240 basis point impact from a combination of its PPE divestiture and the exit of the company's private label diaper businesses in the US. Adjusted Operating Profit is expected to grow at a high single-digit rate on a constant-currency basis including a negative 320 basis point impact from a combination of its PPE divestiture and the exit of the company's private label diaper businesses in the US. Operating Profit growth is also expected to be negatively impacted by approximately 300 basis points from currency translation. Adjusted Earnings Per share are expected to grow at a mid-to-high single-digit rate on a constant-currency basis including a negative 320 basis point impact from a combination of its PPE divestiture and the exit of the company's private label diaper businesses in the US as well as a negative 100 basis point impact from items below operating profit including an impact from higher net interest expense, a higher effective adjusted tax rate and lower shares outstanding, among others. Earnings Per Share are also currently expected to be negatively impacted by approximately 350-400 basis points from currency translation, including the impact on income from equity interests.

This outlook reflects assumptions subject to change given the macro environment.

Supplemental Materials and Live Webcast

Supplemental materials will be available at approximately 6:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time in the Investor Relations section of www.kimberly-clark.com. The company will host a live Q&A session with investors and analysts on January 28, 2025, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. The supplemental materials and Kimberly-Clark's Q&A session can be accessed at investor.kimberly-clark.com. A replay of the webcast will be available following the event through the same website.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain matters contained in this news release concerning the business outlook, including raw material, energy and other input costs, the anticipated charges and savings from the 2024 Transformation Initiative, cash flow and uses of cash, growth initiatives, innovations, marketing and other spending, net sales, anticipated currency rates and exchange risks, including the impact in Argentina and Türkiye, effective tax rate, contingencies and anticipated transactions of Kimberly-Clark, including dividends, share repurchases and pension contributions, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are based upon management's expectations and beliefs concerning future events impacting Kimberly-Clark. There can be no assurance that these future events will occur as anticipated or that our results will be as estimated. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update them.

The assumptions used as a basis for the forward-looking statements include many estimates that, among other things, depend on the achievement of future cost savings and projected volume increases. In addition, many factors outside our control, including the risk that we are not able to realize the anticipated benefits of the 2024 Transformation Initiative (including risks related to disruptions to our business or operations or related to any delays in implementation), war in Ukraine (including the related responses of consumers, customers, and suppliers and sanctions issued by the U.S., the European Union, Russia or other countries), pandemics, epidemics, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, the prices and availability of our raw materials, supply chain disruptions, disruptions in the capital and credit markets, counterparty defaults (including customers, suppliers and financial institutions with which we do business), failure to realize the expected benefits or synergies from our acquisition and disposition activity, impairment of goodwill and intangible assets and our projections of operating results and other factors that may affect our impairment testing, changes in customer preferences, severe weather conditions, regional instabilities and hostilities (including the war in Israel), government trade or similar regulatory actions, potential competitive pressures on selling prices for our products, energy costs, general economic and political conditions globally and in the markets in which we do business, as well as our ability to maintain key customer relationships, could affect the realization of these estimates.

The factors described under Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, or in our other SEC filings, among others, could cause our future results to differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf. Other factors not presently known to us or that we presently consider immaterial could also affect our business operations and financial results.

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