Sales of Hill's Pet Nutrition in the United States and Europe led organic growth for parent company Colgate-Palmolive in the first quarter of 2020. Net sales of Hill’s increased 20% compared to this time last year to reach US$719 million, up from US$600 million in the first three month of 2019. First quarter operating profit for Hill’s hit US$203 million. That represented a 24% increase for the pet food company compared to the same time last year. Sales of Hill’s made up 18% of Colgate-Palmolive’s overall sales for the period.
Hill’s operating profit growth as a percentage of net sales was primarily due to lower overhead expenses, cost savings from Colgate-Palmolive’s funding-the-growth initiatives and higher pricing, partially offset by increased advertising investment and higher raw and packaging material costs, the company wrote in a press release.
Colgate-Palmolive’s overall net sales increased 5.5%, while organic sales increased 7.5%, in the first quarter of 2020. However, the company withdrew its 2020 financial guidance due to the uncertainty surrounding the business impacts from COVID-19 and related macroeconomic volatility.
About Hill’s Pet Nutrition
Hill's Pet Nutrition sells more than 300 products, principally through authorized pet supply retailers and veterinarians in more than 80 countries worldwide, according to Petfood Industry’s Top Pet Food Companies Current Data. A subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive Co., Hill's products accounted for 15% of the parent company’s worldwide net sales in 2017, when pet nutrition accounted for US$15.5 billion net sales. Hill's operates major manufacturing and warehousing facilities in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Topeka, Kansas, Emporia, Kansas, and Richmond, Indiana, USA. The primary research center is located in Topeka, Kansas, USA. Hill's also runs major manufacturing and warehousing facilities in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands.
