Inflation has pushed up Kimberly-Clark’s operating costs. Although the company’s sales in Mexico were in line with analyst expectations, operating expenses increased 10% as inflation pressured on costs.
The company dedicated to the manufacture, distribution and marketing of cleaning, care and hygiene products explained in its quarterly results report that practically all the raw materials it uses, with the exception of polypropylene resins, became more expensive; while gas costs almost doubled in the period.
As a percentage of sales, operating expenses remained stable compared to the same period in 2021, thanks to the efficiencies that the company achieved in its operations without compromising the investment of its brands, among which are Pétalo, Cottonelle, Suavel and Kleenex .
Kimberly-Clark Mexico stated in its report that despite facing an environment of unprecedented global inflation in commodity and raw material prices, it reached an all-time high in sales, for any quarter, of 12,895 million pesos during the April period. to June 2022. This is thanks to the rise in the prices of most of its products.
The results of operating cash flow and net income were below expectations, due to higher costs in raw materials and energy.
The operating flow (EBITDA, for its acronym in English) reached an amount of 2,676 million pesos, with a decrease of 1.5% compared to 2Q21. With this result, it was 3.1% below what was estimated by analysts for the period from April to June of this year.
On the other hand, the consolidated net income closed at 1,177 million pesos and a contraction of 3.7%. Compared to what was expected in the consensus, the result of this item had a decrease of 6.7%.
