Personal Care Products include items that we use on a daily basis. Some of the items in this group are hair care products, deodorants, detergents, toothpaste, skin care products, band-aids, baby diapers, tissue, etc. Some of these products are necessities and consumers buy them even when the economy is down. This is one reason why stocks in this sector are good picks to ride out a recession.
In order to identify the Top 10 Companies in the Personal Care Products business I used Computerwire’s DataMonitor list. The following top ranking companies were selected based on their 2007 personal care product revenues:
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Note: Companies whose stocks are not traded in the USA are marked with N/A.
Brief Overview:
1. The Procter & Gamble Company (PG) is a Cincinnati,Ohio USA based Fortune 500 company that manufactures a wide range of consumer products and markets them in over 180 countries. P&G owns many of the world-class brands like Gillette, Olay, Pampers, Bounty, Duracell, Vicks, Folgers Coffee, Crest etc. PG has an yield of 2.6% and a P/E of 16.4. Total Revenue in 2007 was $85.0B. In the last 5 year, annual EPS growth was 14.5%.
2.Unilever PLC (UL) is one of the parent companies of the Unilever Group. Another company is Unilever N.V. (UN) based in Holland. Some of Unilever’s brands include Brooke Bond Tea, Ponds, Ben & Jerry’s, Slim Fast, Bertolli, Ragu, Lipton,Close-up, Dove, Thermasilk, etc. UL pays a dividend of 3.01% and the P/E is 10.98%.
3. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is a great American company with a wide range of products in its portfolio. JNJ is also a Dow Jones Industrial Average component. Some of JNJ’s brands are Acuvue, Band-Aid, Nicorette, Tylenol, Neutrogena, Shower to Shower, etc. S&P has a 5-star rating on JNJ. In the past 52 weeks JNJ is down just 16%. Annual dividend growth rate is 15%. In 2007, total revenues were $64.5 B.
4. Another global health and hygiene products maker is Irving, Texas-based Kimberly Clark Corp (KMB). The company makes many paper-based products including Kleenex, Cottenelle, Huggies, etc.
Total Revenues in 2007 was $19.6B. The P/E is 13.89 and the yield is 4.06%.
5. Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL) is a USA-based multi-national company that is famous for the Colgate tooth paste brand worldwide. Colgate owns brands like Ajax, Colgate toothpaste, Fresh Start, Palmolive soap, etc. Similar to JNJ, CL is also a 5-star rated stock by S&P. The current yield is 2.55% and the P/E is 17.93. Annual EPS growth rate in the past 5 years is 8%.
6.New York City, USA-based Estee Lauder (EL) is a manufacturer and marketer of skin care, fragrance and hair care products. Owned brands include Estee Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, American Beauty, Donna Karan,etc. EL has a dividend yield of 2.03%.
7. Incorporated in United Kingdom, GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) is the world’s second largest drug company but also manufactures oral hygienic products, nutritional drinks, etc.GSK is a multi-national corporation with its products being sold in over 140 countries. GSK is a component of the FTSE 100 Index. Some GSK’s brands are Tagamet, Flonase, Aquafresh, etc.
The other companies in the above list Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget, Kao Corporation and L’Oreal S.A. do not trade in the organized exchanges in the USA.
