Church & Dwight Q4 Profit Increases - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (CHD) reported that its fourth-quarter net income increased to $106.6 million from the prior year's $92.2 million, with earnings per share improving to $0.78 from $0.65 last year. The results include a 1.5% negative impact to earnings per share from foreign exchange.

Income from Operations was $163.8 million in the fourth quarter, an increase of $19.2 million or 13.3% over the prior year fourth quarter.

Net Sales for the quarter grew to $865.5 million from $822.6 million in the previous year. Organic sales increased 5.2%, exceeding the Company's outlook of approximately 3.0%. Organic sales growth was driven by strong volume of4.7%, and favorable product mix and pricing of 0.5%.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.80 per share and revenues of $853.52 million for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

On January 29, 2015, the Company's Board of Directors (Board) declared an 8% increase in the regular quarterly dividend from $0.31 to $0.335 per share, equivalent to an annual dividend of $1.34 per share. The decision raises the dividend payout from $168 million to approximately $177 million. The quarterly dividend will be payable March 2, 2015 to stockholders of record at the close of business on February 10, 2015.

The Board has also authorized a new program under which up to $500 million of the Company's common stock may be repurchased in the future to reduce the number of shares outstanding. The previously authorized share repurchase program has been terminated. Currently, the Company has approximately 134 million shares outstanding.

For the first quarter the company expects organic sales growth of approximately 3%, flat gross margin as it continues to invest behind OXICLEAN and experience unfavorable currency impacts, and earnings per share of $0.78.

The company expects to achieve 5-7% reported earnings per share growth in 2015 or 7-9% excluding a previously disclosed pension termination charge of approximately $0.05. Analysts expect annual earnings of $3.31 per share.