Colgate in the first quarter of 2009 once again outperformed rival Procter & Gamble, boosting its share of the manual toothbrush market and posting a profit of $507.9 million, up from $466.5 million in the same quarter a year ago.
By comparison, Procter & Gamble posted a 4% drop in quarterly profit, with earnings down to $2.61 billion compared to $2.71 billion a year ago. Colgate slightly exceeded analysts' expectations, while Procter & Gamble underperformed.
"Value-added new products at various price points across categories continue to drive market share gains worldwide," said Ian Cook, Colgate's chairman, president, and CEO, in a press release. "Colgate maintained its global leadership share in toothpaste."
The company gained market share in toothpaste, manual toothbrushes, and power toothbrushes, it said. Colgate Max Fresh with Mouthwash Beads, Colgate Sensitive, and Colgate Max White with Mini Bright Strips toothpastes contributed to the share gains.
Colgate said its toothpaste market share reached 36.9% year to date, up 0.5 share points versus year ago. Colgate's share of the manual toothbrush market reached a record 27.8% year to date, up 0.7 share points versus a year ago, fueled by the success of Colgate 360° Deep Clean, Colgate Max Fresh, and Colgate Max White manual toothbrushes.
Successful new products contributing to growth in the U.S. in other categories include the Colgate 360° Sonic Power battery toothbrush.
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