Church and Dwight hails successful first quarter

Church and Dwight has published its first quarter financial results for fiscal year 2010, reporting year-on-year improvements in its business performance.

The company’s reported net sales for the quarter increased by 9.2 per cent from the first quarter of 2009 to $634.6 million, while its earnings per share total of $1.11 was a new record for Church and Dwight.

Among the achievements highlighted by the company in the last three months were increased sales of health-oriented products such as Orajel and Aim toothpaste, while it has also agreed a deal to purchase the Simply Saline range from Blairex Laboratories.

James Craigie, chairman and chief executive officer of Church and Dwight, said this represents a strong performance in a difficult economic climate.

He added: “We are launching our best new product line-up ever in 2010 and the customer response has been excellent with distribution gains across almost every key category.”

This follows on from the firm’s encouraging performance in 2009, a year which saw it increase its full year sales total by 4.1 per cent compared to 2008.