Kenvue beats first-quarter estimates amid pending acquisition by Kimberly-Clark

May 7 (Reuters) – Tylenol-maker Kenvue on Thursday beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter revenue and profit helped by strong sales in its skin health and beauty brands.

The consumer health company, currently in the midst of a $40 billion buyout by Kimberly-Clark, expects the deal to close in the second half of the year.

Here are the results:

• Kenvue reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 32 cents per share; analysts on an average expected 26 cents, according to data complied by LSEG.

• The company reported quarterly net sales of $3.91 billion, an increase of 4.5% from a year earlier and above analysts’ estimates of $3.84 billion.

• Net sales at its skin health and beauty unit that includes brands like Neutrogena and Aveeno rose 8.4% to $1.06 billion for the three months ended March 29, helped by strong increase in sales worldwide.

• “We remain confident … as we accelerate our organization and business transformation through our new strategic plans and work toward completing our value-creating combination with Kimberly-Clark in the second half of this year,” said CEO Kirk Perry.

• The company said its restructuring plan is expected to result in pre-tax restructuring expenses and other charges, totaling about $250 million this year.

• “Kenvue’s time as a public company has been tumultuous … Fundamentals still matter but in the near term will take a backseat to the deal and ongoing litigation headlines which we believe will take time to resolve,” said RBC Capital Markets analyst Nik Modi. He called the results bullish for Kimberly-Clark as “Kenvue’s fundamentals seem to be stabilizing.”

(Reporting by Sneha S K in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)