Consumer products maker Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL) said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit jumped 27% from last year, beating expectations, helped by 11% higher revenue.
The New York City-based company reported fourth-quarter net income of $631 million, or $1.21 per share, compared with $497 million, or 94 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Sales rose more than 11% from last year to $4.08 billion.
On average, Wall Street analysts expected a smaller profit of $1.18 per share on matching revenue of $4.08 billion.
For the full year, the company said it earned $2.29 billion, or $4.37 per share, a 17% gain from $1.96 billion, or $3.66 per share, in 2008.
Looking ahead, the company said it expects double-digit earnings growth for fiscal 2010.
Colgate-Palmolive shares fell 20 cents, or 0.3%, in pre-market trading Thursday.
The Bottom Line
Experts have been recommending shares of CL since Sept.11, when the stock was trading at $73.23. The company has a 2.19% dividend yield, based on last night's closing stock price of $80.39.
Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL) is a "recommended" dividend stock, holding a Dividend.com DARS Rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars.
