Following a fourth quarter in which its core sales were up 2.5%, Newell Brands revised guidance for 2017 down slightly, citing the company’s business with struggling U.S. mall-based retailers.
Sales for the quarter were $4.14 billion, up from sales of $1.56 billion in the comparable quarter the prior year. The growth was largely driven by net sales gained through the acquisition of Jarden.
“Our fourth quarter results reflect continued strong progress in the company’s transformation,” said Michael Polk, Newell Brands CEO. “We delivered more than 40% earnings per share growth and nearly $1 billion of operating cash flow, driven by accelerating cost savings from synergies and Project Renewal.”
The company’s Home Solutions net sales declined 11.5% to $391 million primarily due to the divestiture of the décor business. Core sales grew 5.7% largely driven by strong results from the beverage business and the launch of Rubbermaid Brilliance food storage containers, partially offset by Calphalon’s weaker performance in certain mall-based retailers due to lower holiday retail mall foot traffic.
Consumer Solutions net sales were $709.7 million. On a pro forma basis, net sales decreased 0.3% versus prior year. Pro forma core sales, which exclude the U.S. heaters, humidifiers and fans business that is held for sale, increased 0.3% compared with the prior year despite strong market share performance and high single digit U.S. POS growth as certain U.S. retailers adjusted their buying patterns after the holidays compared to prior years.
The company revised its guidance for full year 2017 core sales growth to 2.5% to 4% compared with initial 2017 guidance of 3% to 4%. The updated outlook range reflects revised expectations on the company’s businesses with larger U.S. mall-based retailers and lowered expectations for U.S. retail mall foot traffic.
