Investing.com -- Church & Dwight Company Inc (N:CHD) increased its forward guidance on Tuesday after the U.S. manufacturer of household products reported stronger than expected revenues for its final quarter of last year.
During the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2015, the New Jersey-based company best known for its Arm & Hammer baking soda product, finished with revenues of $873.6 million, a spike of 0.9% on a year-over-year basis. At the same time, Church & Dwight reported earnings of $109.1 million or 0.82 per share, up from net profits of $106.6 million or 0.78 over the same period a year earlier. Analysts forecasted per share earnings of 0.82 on revenues of $863.5 million.
"We are very pleased with the superior business results we delivered in 2015. We delivered top tier results within the consumer packaged goods industry including full year organic sales of 3.6%, expanded gross margin by 40 basis points and delivered adjusted earnings growth of 8.0%," Church & Dwight CEO Matthew Farrell said in a statement.
Within the report, the company's organic sales increased by nearly 3%, driven by strong sales from its Arm & Hammer Clump & Seal cat litter, Batiste dry shampoo and Trojan condoms. Over fiscal year 2015, Batiste more than doubled its shares and became the highest-selling dry shampoo in the U.S., the company said in a statement.
"We increased our marketing spending in 2015 in support of our brands. For the full year, three out of four mega brands and seven out of 10 power brands grew share including Arm & Hammer, our biggest power brand, and including Batiste, our newest power brand. Finally, we exited the year with strong momentum," Farrell added.
Further earnings from Church & Dwight were restrained by disappointing international sales, which slumped nearly 10% amid severe currency headwinds.
Moving forward, Church & Dwight expects organic sales growth of 3% and adjusted earnings per share growth of 7 to 9% in 2016. Farrell is also anticipating a 40 basis point increase in gross margin on the year, due primarily to lower commodity costs.
Representatives from Church & Dwight rang the closing bell on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
Church & Dwight shares closed at $85.78 on Tuesday, up 0.71 or 0.83% on the session.