Hill’s Pet Nutrition contributed nearly a fifth (18%) of worldwide sales for parent company Colgate-Palmolive in the first quarter of 2020, led by organic growth in the US and Europe.
Net sales of Hill’s worldwide to March 31 increased to US$719m (£584m)for the three months to March 31, up 20% on the same period last year ($600m). Profit for the division was $203m, against $164m last year.
The increase in operating profit as a percentage of net sales was primarily due to lower overhead expenses, cost savings from the company’s funding-the-growth initiatives and higher pricing, partially offset by increased advertising investment and higher raw and packaging material costs.
Noel Wallace, chairman, president and CEO of Colgate-Palmolive, said: “The worldwide covid-19 pandemic has required all of us to rethink how we interact in the world, how we work and how we live.
“Our responsibility to our employees, our customers, our consumers, our communities and our shareholders has never been greater. We take these responsibilities very seriously and our teams around the world are rising strongly to the challenges before us.
“Separately, we are donating $20 million worth of health and hygiene products to community-based organisations in the US and abroad.”
