Sales up at Hill’s

The pet food manufacturer Hill’s Pet Nutrition clocked the highest year-on-year sales growth for Colgate-Palmolive in the first quarter, despite continued inflation for raw materials. On 28 April, Colgate-Palmolive shared its earnings performance for the three-month period ending on 31 March.

Net sales for the company’s Hill’s Pet Nutrition business were up by 21.5 per cent to 1.06 bn dollars in the first quarter. Organic sales rose by 14 per cent, driven by growth in the United States and Europe. Operating profit was down by 10 per cent to 183 mio dollars and accounted for 17.2 per cent of the division’s total net sales. Colgate-Palmolive attributed operating profit declines to “significantly higher raw and packaging material costs” paired with impacts from recent pet food acquisitions and increased advertising investment.

Hill’s Pet Nutrition accounted for 22 per cent of Colgate-Palmolive’s total sales in the first quarter.