Energizer posts loss on personal care spin-off costs

By Simon Pitman

- Last updated on GMT

Energizer posts loss on personal care spin-off costs
Energizer has posted a loss on the back of costs associated with the pending spin-off of its personal care and house products businesses, but the results are in line with expectations, putting the split on track.

The company said that net sales fell by $1.008bn, a fall of 5.1% but up by 0.3% in organic terms, which factored in the negative impact of currency translations on a strong dollar.

The organic sales also excluded all sales derived from the Venezuela market, where the currency was devalued resulting in a $144.5m reconsolidation charge.

Charges hurt but underlying results are stronger

The bottom line was also hit by considerable restructuring charges, ahead of the spin-off Energizer's personal care business, which was recently named Edgewell Personal Care.

Spin-off charges, restructuring and associated costs totalled $65.7m, which meant that net loss came in at $88.5m, compared to a profit of $94.5m in the corresponding period last year.

Net earnings for the quarter without all the charges were $123.1m, compared to a figure of $118.0m for the corresponding period last year.

Onward with the spin-off

“We are quickly approaching the targeted July 1 spin-off date and are in the process of finalizing several key decisions related to the transaction,” ​said Ward Klein, CEO.

“Even with the tremendous amount of work that our colleagues across the globe are performing in preparation for the split, the organization has remained focused on delivering our fiscal 2015 financial plan.”

Last week the company confirmed the line-up for its newly formed executive boards for the divided businesses.

New exec board for personal care spin-off

The new Edgewell board will include eight directors, six of whom will be independent, while the other two executives have been designated as CEO and chairman of the board.

The new positions include Ward Klein as executive chairman of the board and David Hatfield as chief executive officer of Edgewell Personal Care, who are both being promoted internally to the new positions.

J Patrick Mulcahy gets the top job as chairman of the board for Edgewell, having already served as chairman of Energizer Holdings since 2007. He also served as CEO of Everyready Battery Company from 1985 to his retirement in 2005.

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