Colgate-Palmolive Swings To a Loss On Venezuelan-related Charges

Colgate-Palmolive Company said Friday it had a fourth quarter loss of $458 million, or 51 cents a share, after earnings of $628 million, or 68 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding charges, the company had EPS of 73 cents a share, ahead of the FactSet consensus of 72 cents per share. Sales fell 7.5% to $3.9 billion, matching the FactSet consensus. The company said it took a $1.1 billion charge relating to a change in accounting for its Venezuela operations. The company said it expects full-year EPS to decline in the low single digits, including a 10 cents hit from the Venezuela accounting change. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are down 5.8% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has lost 6.3%.