Kimberly-Clark Revenue Rises on Strong International Sales

Personal care products maker Kimberly-Clark Corp said it would cut 1,100 to 1,300 jobs as part of a restructuring to contain costs arising from the spinoff of its healthcare business.

The maker of Kleenex tissues and Huggies diapers also cut its full-year profit forecast to reflect costs associated with the spinoff, while reporting better-than-expected quarterly revenue on strong demand in markets such as Brazil, China, South Africa and Vietnam.

Kimberly-Clark said it expects the restructuring, to be completed by the end of 2016, to cost $130 to $160 million after-tax and generate pre-tax savings of $120 to $140 million.

For the full year, the company cut its profit forecast to $5.93 to $6.03 per share from its earlier estimate of $6.00 to $6.15 per share.

Analysts on average had expected it to earn $6.07 per share for the full year, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Kimberly-Clark in November last year announced plans to spinoff its struggling healthcare division to focus on its core businesses.

The division, Kimberly-Clark's smallest, sells surgical and infection-prevention products for operating rooms and medical devices.

In the third quarter ended Sept. 30, international sales in the company's personal care segment, which includes Huggies diapers and Kotex female hygiene products, rose 9 percent, while volumes rose 6 percent.

Overall sales increased to $5.44 billion from $5.26 billion a year earlier, and net income attributable to the company rose to $562 million, or $1.50 per share, from $546 million, or $1.42 per share.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of $1.61 per share on revenue of $5.36 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. (Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar and Ramkumar Iyer in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian and Feroze Jamal)