In its fourth-quarter earnings report, Church & Dwight Co., Inc., a leading consumer goods company, has projected an increase in its annual sales and earnings. The firm credits this expected growth in main part to organic sales growth, volume increase, margin expansion, and an uptick in operating income.
Extraneous items aside, the company expects to see an annual growth ranging from 7% to 9% (mid-point $3.42 adjusted Earnings Per Share (EPS)) for the whole year. If the impact of MEGALAC - presumably a company operation factor - is excluded, the adjusted EPS growth is expected to fall between 8% and 10%.
According to a consensus prediction by 22 analysts conducted by Thomson Reuters, the company is projected to earn $3.41 per share for the year. However, these estimates usually do not take special items into account. For reference, Church & Dwight reported an adjusted income per share of $3.17 for the full-year 2023.
Regarding sales, the company expects to record a reported and organic sales growth of about 4% to 5% over the upcoming 12 months, excluding the impact from MEGALAC and foreign currency. Analysts generally anticipate the company to report revenue of $6.05 billion for the year. For comparison, the company reported sales of $5.867 billion for the full-year 2023.
Finally, Church & Dwight's Board of Directors announced a 4% increase in the quarterly dividend, bringing it from $0.2725 to $0.28375 per share, equivalent to an annual dividend of $1.135 per share. This represents a rise in the annual dividend payout from $267 million to approximately $276 million. Shareholders of record as of February 15 will receive the quarterly dividend on March 1.
