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Gillette earnings look sharp
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July 16, 1998: 7:16 p.m. ET
Company meets 33 cents-per-share expectations on strength of Mach 3
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BOSTON (CNNfn) - Household and personal products manufacturer Gillette Corp. said Thursday it earned 33 cents per share profit in the second quarter, coming within a razor's edge of analysts' expectations.
The company reported net income of $372 million in the quarter ended June 30, up from $336 million -- 29 cents per fully diluted share -- in the comparable period a year earlier.
Net revenue slipped to $2.32 billion from $2.36 billion a year ago.
Analysts surveyed by First Call had forecast a profit of 33 cents per share.
In the year to date, Gillette has earned 57 cents per share, or $640 million, on revenue of $4.35 billion. In the corresponding period of 1997, the company earned 51 cents per share, or $572 million, on revenue of $4.36 billion.
All 1997 figures reflected the two-for-one stock split announced May 15, the company said.
Gillette attributed much of its steady performance to the launch of its Mach 3 shaving system and said it expected the system to earn $800 million in 1999 and more than $1 billion by 2000.
"That's a heck of an achievement, and we've done it without one penny of advertisement, and that's going to break in August," said company CEO Al Zeien. "In the first six months between now and Christmas, we expect that Mach 3 will ship over 200 million cartridges."
By 2000, Mach 3 will be available in more than 200 countries, and annual sales of 1.2 billion Mach 3 cartridges are expected, Zeien said.
Gillette announced its results after the end of the trading session. Earlier, its stock (G) closed up 9/16 at 60-3/8, nearing its year high of 62-5/8. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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Gillette
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