Colgate-Palmolive raises sales growth target after strong Q1 results

(Reuters) - Toothpaste maker Colgate-Palmolive raised forecast for annual organic sales growth on Friday, banking on resilient demand for its highly priced self-care and pet nutrition products.

Demand for Colgate-Palmolive's products, including personal care and pet food, held strong as consumers stretched their budgets to spend on daily essentials.

Earlier this month, larger peers Procter & Gamble and Kimberly-Clark also saw sales rise thanks to strong consumer demand.

Colgate-Palmolive now expects full-year organic sales growth in the range of 5% to 7%, compared with its prior forecast of 3% to 5% growth.

Benefits from price hikes and easing costs of raw and packaging materials helped the company expand its margins by 310 basis points to 60%.

The Palmolive shower gel maker's prices rose by 8.5% in the first quarter, while organic sales volumes were up 1.3%, improving from a 2% dip last year.

The company posted net sales of $5.07 billion for the quarter ended March 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of $4.96 billion, according to LSEG data.

On an adjusted basis, it earned 86 cents per share, topping analysts' estimate of 81 cents per share.

Shares of the household and consumer products firm, which are up 12% so far this year, rose 3% in premarket trading.

(Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; Editing by Milla Nissi)