Newell Brands reported first-quarter corporate net sales of $2.4 billion, a 4.4% year-over-year increase.
Core sales at Newell advanced 6.9% year over year with five of seven business units reporting gains in core sales compared with the prior-year period.
Newell’s Home Appliance segment, including such brands as Mr. Coffee, Oster and Crock-Pot, recorded net sales of $340 million in Q1 against $360 million in the prior-year period. The segment posted an operating loss of $18 million versus an operating income of $3 million in the prior-year period.
The Newell Home Solutions segment, including the company’s Food unit with such brands as Rubbermaid, Calphalon, Ball and Sistema, recorded net sales of $500 million compared with $504 million in the prior-year period. The company noted it closed 38 underperforming Yankee Candle retail locations during the first quarter. Core sales growth in the Food business unit more than offset core sales decline in the Home Fragrance business unit, according to Newell.
Reported Q1 operating income by Newell Home Solutions was $61 million compared with $61 million in the year-earlier period.
Newell’s Outdoor & Recreation segment, including such brands as Coleman, Contigo and Bubba, generated net sales of $388 million in Q1, against $336 million in the prior-year period, reflecting core sales growth of 22.9 percent. Reported operating income was $45 million compared with $15 million, in the prior-year period. Normalized operating income was $49 million, or 12.6 percent of sales, compared with $20 million, or 6.0 percent of sales, in the prior-year period.
Ravi Saligram, Newell Brands president and CEO, said, “We are pleased with a strong start to 2022, as we delivered a seventh consecutive quarter of core sales growth and our team executed with excellence in a challenging environment. Core sales grew 6.9 percent, on top of a difficult 20.9 percent comparison from the prior year, while normalized operating income increased 10.4 percent, despite significant ongoing inflation, demonstrating the power of our diversified portfolio and the nimbleness of our model.”