The company said that it expects to meet or beat high end estimates for adjusted earnings for the quarter, which had been forecast at $0.99 to $1.01 per share.
"We're off to a very good start in 2007, building on the momentum we created throughout 2006," said Thomas Falk, Kimberly-Clark CEO, speaking at the company's Investor day, held today.
"Our teams are continuing to execute well, bringing new and improved products to market and driving costs out of the system. We have plans in place to deliver solid top- and bottom-line improvement for the year as a whole."
Falk drew attention to the company's restructuring plan, which he said had delivered significant benefits, that have brought about significant cost savings to make the company 'leaner, stronger, more focused'.
The company said it expects to deliver additional savings of $350m - $450m in savings through 2008 to 2010 from its ongoing savings program, while savings for the period 2005 to 2007 should total between $485m - $510m.
Falk also said that the company would be accelerating its focus on innovation by increasing speed to market for its latest product development, an aspect of the business that is vital to product success.
This focus on innovation is reflected by the company recent launch, extending the its leading Huggies brand into the children's sun care segment.
In line with this focus Falk also said that R&D spend would be increased significantly in line with this focus on innovation, ensuring the right ingredients to grow future sales.
