EWING, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE: CHD) today announced reported full year 2020 EPS increased 27.9% to $3.12 per share. Adjusted EPS, which excludes a positive acquisition related earn-out adjustment, grew 14.6% to $2.83, exceeding the Company’s outlook of 13%.2
Full year net sales grew 12.3% to $4,895.8 million. The Company continues to experience a significant increase in consumer demand for many of its products, primarily in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Volume growth was driven by higher consumption. Organic sales grew 9.6% driven by volume growth of 8.1% and positive product mix and pricing of 1.5%.
Reported Q4 net sales were $1,295.3 million, a $151.1 million or 13.2% increase. Organic sales growth of 10.8% exceeded the Company’s outlook of 8% driven by volume growth of 10.3% and positive price and product mix of 0.5%. Reported EPS was $0.59 per share, a 1.7% increase. Adjusted EPS of $0.53, which excludes an acquisition related earn-out adjustment, exceeded the Company’s $0.50-$0.52 outlook.² EPS was impacted by higher marketing costs and awards to the Company’s employees in recognition of their dedication throughout the pandemic, primarily to manufacturing and distribution center workers. Revenue growth, gross margin (excluding the recognition award), and cash from operations all exceeded the Company’s expectations.
Matthew Farrell, Chief Executive Officer, commented, “In this unusual time, our focus has been and remains on the safety of our employees, meeting the needs of our customers and consumers, and ensuring our brands are even stronger moving forward. I’d like to recognize all Church & Dwight employees around the world for their dedication to keeping our Company going during the pandemic, especially our manufacturing and distribution employees and lab technicians who are in our facilities every day.
“2020 was an extraordinarily strong year for Church & Dwight. Both our household and personal care businesses delivered exceptional volume growth as consumers and retailers focused on core essentials. Our brands once again experienced strong consumption in Q4, which continued in January. Shipments are aligned with consumption. The pandemic drove double-digit consumption growth in many domestic categories, especially gummy vitamins, pregnancy test kits, and baking soda. Consumption of water flossers was positive in Q4, after experiencing double-digit declines earlier in the year. We remain focused on generating results both in the short and long term. Our strong results in 2020 enabled us to continue to invest in capacity and capabilities. As in years past, these actions help the Company enter the coming year with momentum. Specifically, we invested in higher marketing spending, surge capacity in manufacturing, R&D, new product development, consumer research, digital advertising, and predictive analytics. Online sales as a percentage of total sales topped 14% of sales in Q4 and 13% for full year 2020 compared to 8% in 2019.
“The International business had a strong quarter despite the global COVID-19 pandemic, with extremely strong and broad-based consumption increases across many countries and brands. Specialty Products sales in Q4 contracted primarily in the non-dairy segment.”
Fourth Quarter Review
Consumer Domestic net sales were $990.9 million, a $120.1 million or 13.8% increase driven by household and personal care sales growth and acquisitions. Organic sales increased 11.0% due to higher volume (+10.5%) and positive price and product mix (+0.5%). Growth was led by VITAFUSION® and L’IL CRITTERS® gummy vitamins, ARM & HAMMER® liquid laundry detergent, WATERPIK® oral care products, OXICLEAN® stain fighter powder, ARM & HAMMER® clumping cat litter and baking soda, VIVISCAL® hair thinning, and KABOOM® bathroom cleaners.
Consumer International net sales were $228.5 million, a $31.9 million or a 16.2% increase, primarily driven by the Global Markets Group. Organic sales increased 14.9% due to higher volume (+14.7%) and positive price and product mix (+0.2%). Organic sales were driven primarily by WATERPIK, VITAFUSION, OXICLEAN, and NAIR® in the Global Markets Group, FLAWLESS® and WATERPIK in Australia, WATERPIK, FLAWLESS, and ANUSOL® in the U.K., and ARM & HAMMER liquid laundry detergent and clumping cat litter, and FLAWLESS women’s hair removal in Canada.
Specialty Products net sales were $75.9 million, a $0.9 million or a 1.2% decrease. Organic sales decreased primarily due to lower volume (-2.5%), partially offset by higher pricing (+1.3%). While volumes decreased year over year, quarterly demand in the dairy industry improved sequentially with stable milk prices.
Gross margin decreased 280 basis points to 43.0% due to the impact of higher manufacturing costs primarily related to outsourcing, COVID-19 pandemic related expenses, awards to supply chain employees for their dedication during COVID-19, and higher tariffs.
Marketing expense was $201.6 million, an increase of $39.0 million or 24.0%. Marketing expense as a percentage of net sales increased 140 basis points to 15.6%. Q4 was the highest quarter of the year for marketing spending as we took the opportunity to invest behind our brands.
Selling, general, and administrative expense (SG&A) was $165.2 million or 12.8% of net sales on a reported basis, a 170 basis point decrease. Adjusted SG&A decreased 70 basis points as sales growth outpaced investments.2
Income from Operations was $190.6 million or 14.6% of net sales. Adjusted Income from Operations was $168.6 million or 13.0% of net sales.2
Other Expense of $13.7 million declined slightly due to lower interest expense resulting from lower average debt outstanding.
The effective tax rate was 15.1% compared to 18.7% in 2019, a decrease of 360 basis points which includes a planned tax settlement and higher stock option exercises. The full year rate was 19.3%.
Operating Cash Flow
For the full year 2020, cash from operating activities increased 14.6% to $990.3 million, a $125.8 million increase from the prior year due to higher cash earnings and an improvement in working capital. Capital expenditures for the full year were $98.9 million, a $25.2 million increase from the prior year to support production capacity related to increased demand.
At December 31, 2020, cash on hand was $183.1 million, while total debt was $2,163.9 million.
5.2% Dividend Increase and Share Repurchase
The Company’s Board of Directors declared a 5.2% increase in the regular quarterly dividend from $0.24 to $0.2525 per share, equivalent to an annual dividend of $1.01 per share. This raises the annual dividend payout from $237 million to approximately $250 million. The quarterly dividend will be payable March 1, 2021 to stockholders of record at the close of business on February 16, 2021. This is the 25th consecutive year in which the Company has increased the dividend. The Company has paid a regular consecutive quarterly dividend for 120 years. In addition, as part of the Evergreen Share Repurchase Program, in December 2020, the Company entered an accelerated share repurchase contract with a commercial bank to purchase $300 million of the Company’s common stock. The Company paid $300 million to the bank, inclusive of fees, and received an initial delivery of approximately 3.1 million shares, which reduced the Company’s shares outstanding. The Company used cash on hand and short-term borrowings to fund the initial purchase price. The total amount of shares to be ultimately delivered by the bank will be determined by the average price per share paid by the bank during the purchase period, which is expected to end during Q1 of 2021.
Mr. Farrell commented, “This action reflects the Company’s desire for stockholders to benefit from our strong cash generation and is an indication of our confidence in the continuation of the Company’s strong performance. The Company expects to continue to generate significant cash flow. Our robust cash flow enables us to return cash to our stockholders while maintaining significant financial flexibility to continue to pursue acquisitions.”
2021 New Products
Mr. Farrell commented, “Innovation continues to be a big driver of our success. In support of our long-term strategy to drive revenue and earnings growth and meet consumer’s needs, we are pleased to announce our 2021 new product launches.
“In the household products portfolio, we are introducing OXICLEAN Laundry and Home Sanitizer. It is the first and only sanitizing product, that consumers add directly to the washing machine with their regular detergent, that not only boosts stain fighting performance it also eliminates 99.9% of bacteria and viruses. The product is also designed for cleaning throughout the house on a variety of surfaces for a germ-free clean.
“In the personal care portfolio, VITAFUSION has launched VITAFUSION POWER ZINC™, Elderberry gummies in both adult and kids’ variants, and Super Immune Support to capitalize on increased consumer interest in immunity. WATERPIK is launching WATERPIK ION, a water flosser which is 30% smaller and contains a lithium ion battery that lasts up to four weeks with a single charge and is specifically designed for smaller bathroom spaces with limited counter space and electric outlets. In addition, to capitalize on its success, WATERPIK SONIC-FUSION®, the world’s first flossing toothbrush, will be upgraded with SONIC-FUSION 2.0, with two brush head sizes and two brush speeds. FLAWLESS is capitalizing on the At-Home Beauty and self-care trends with a facial cleanser, a full body exfoliator for head-to-toe rejuvenating spa-like experience in the shower, and mani-pedi nail and foot care solutions. Finally, VIVISCAL is launching Hair Therapy, a powder supplement packaged in convenient, on-the-go sachets that is formulated to support hair health.”
Outlook for 2021
Mr. Farrell stated, “We had an extraordinary 2020 and delivered 15% adjusted earnings growth. We expect 2021 to be another strong year with adjusted EPS of $3.00 to $3.06, an increase of 6-8%, driven by operating income growth.1 This reflects continued strong business performance in-line with our Evergreen model.”
Mr. Farrell continued, “We expect full year 2021 reported sales growth to be approximately 4.5% and organic sales growth to be approximately 3% after posting almost 10% organic growth in 2020. In 2021, we expect several categories to remain at elevated consumption levels, including gummy vitamins, laundry additives, hair growth supplements, and cat litter. With respect to gummy vitamins, household penetration is increasing and existing households are consuming more vitamins. We continue to supplement our existing gummy manufacturing capacity with third party support to meet demand.
“We expect modest growth from the laundry category in 2021. Dry shampoo, condoms, and women’s grooming are expected to improve with increased consumer mobility. We expect growth in water flossers in 2021 due to the wellness trend and as higher traffic returns to dental offices. Other categories are expected to pull back from 2020 highs, such as baking soda, toothache, and pregnancy kits. Additionally, we have confidence in 2021 as we have compelling new product launches in many categories to help drive growth. Investments in our International business continue to pay off, particularly in our Global Markets Group. Finally, our Specialty Products business is also expected to have a strong year driven by a more balanced dairy and non-dairy business.
“We expect full year reported gross margin to be up 50 basis points, with improvement weighted to the back half of 2021 (first half -50 bps, second half +150 bps). We expect inflation and tariffs to be offset by productivity, a reduction in COVID-19 incremental costs, and trade promotional efficiency. Marketing spend in dollars is expected to increase in 2021, but decline as a percentage of sales by 30 basis points as we return to pre-pandemic levels. We expect SG&A as a percentage of sales to improve by 20 basis points. As a result of these improvements, we expect adjusted operating profit margin expansion of 100 basis points, which exceeds our Evergreen model of +50 basis points.¹ The 2021 effective tax rate is expected to be approximately 21-22%. Cash flow from operations is expected to be approximately $1 billion. We expect FLAWLESS and ZICAM to be fully integrated by the end of 2021 and we continue to pursue accretive acquisitions that meet our strict criteria.
“For Q1, we expect reported sales growth of approximately 3.0%, organic sales growth of approximately 2.0%, gross margin contraction as we lap artificially low promotional levels, and adjusted EPS of $0.80 per share, a 4% decrease over last year’s adjusted Q1 EPS.1 Our Q1 EPS outlook includes higher marketing dollars versus a year ago to support our new product launches.”
1 This press release does not provide a forward-looking reconciliation of adjusted EPS to reported EPS and adjusted operating margin to reported operating margin, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, expected for 2021 or the first quarter of 2021, because we are unable to provide such a reconciliation without unreasonable effort. We have excluded the changes in the Company’s potential earn-out liability from our acquisition of the FLAWLESS business from our expected adjusted EPS for these periods. We are required to review the fair value of the earn-out liability quarterly based on changes in sales forecasts, discount rates, volatility assumptions, and other inputs. Our inability to provide a reconciliation to GAAP EPS for future periods is due to the uncertainty and inherent difficulty of predicting what these changes will be on a quarter-by-quarter basis or on an annual basis. For the same reasons, we are unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information, which could be material to our future results.
2See non-GAAP reporting reconciliations.
Church & Dwight has a strong heritage of commitment to people and the planet. In the early 1900’s, we began using recycled paperboard for all packaging of household products. Today, virtually all our paperboard packaging is from certified, sustainable sources. In 1970, the ARM & HAMMER® brand introduced the first nationally distributed, phosphate-free detergent. That same year, Church & Dwight was honored to be the sole corporate sponsor of the first annual Earth Day. Church & Dwight is notably ranked in the 2019 Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable Companies and on the EPA’s Green Power Partnership Top 100 List of Green Power Users.
