Kimberly-Clark (KMB) 10-Q2024 Q3 Quarterly report

The accompanying unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") for interim financial information and instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all material adjustments which are of a normal and recurring nature necessary for a fair statement of the results for the periods presented have been reflected. Amounts are reported in millions, except per share amounts, unless otherwise noted.

GAAP requires the use of highly inflationary accounting for countries whose cumulative three-year inflation exceeds 100%. Under highly inflationary accounting, the countries’ functional currency becomes the U.S. dollar, and its income statement and balance sheet are measured in U.S. dollars using both current and historical rates of exchange. In the second quarter of 2018, published inflation indices indicated that the three-year cumulative inflation in Argentina exceeded 100%, and as of July 1, 2018, we adopted highly inflationary accounting for our subsidiaries in Argentina (“K-C Argentina”). The effect of changes in exchange rates on peso-denominated monetary assets and liabilities has been reflected in earnings in Other (income) and expense, net. As of September 30, 2024, K-C Argentina had an immaterial net peso monetary position. Net sales of K-C Argentina were approximately 1% of our consolidated net sales for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023.

On February 24, 2022, we completed our acquisition of a majority and controlling share of Thinx Inc. (“Thinx”), an industry leader in the reusable period and incontinence underwear category, for total consideration of $181. We previously accounted for our ownership interest in Thinx as an equity method investment, but upon increasing our ownership to 58%, we began consolidating the operations of Thinx into our condensed consolidated financial statements at the end of the first quarter of 2022.

On July 1, 2024, we completed the sale transaction that was announced on April 7, 2024, of the personal protective equipment ("PPE") business included in our K-C Professional business segment for total consideration of $635, including the initial purchase price of $640 less working capital and other closing adjustments of $5. The transaction included Kimtech branded products, such as gloves, apparel and masks, and KleenGuard branded products, such as gloves, apparel, respirators and eyewear, which serve a variety of scientific and industrial industries globally. Upon closure of the transaction, a pre-tax gain of $566 ($453 after-tax) was recognized in Other (income) and expense, net. This gain is net of transaction costs of $14 that were determined to be directly attributable to the sale transaction.

During the third quarter of 2024, we revised internal financial projections for our Softex and Thinx businesses to reflect updated expectations of future financial performance in light of current performance and as part of our re-organization efforts discussed in Note 2. As part of these revisions, we performed impairment assessments for our indefinite-lived brand names and finite-lived intangible assets, primarily brand names and distributor relationships, all of which are included in the Personal Care business segment. As a result of these assessments, we recognized impairment charges of $97 pre-tax ($57 after-tax) to write-down these intangible assets to their respective fair values. The valuation methods used in the assessments included the relief from royalty and distributor relationships methods. These impairment charges were primarily caused by increased attrition in our distributor relationships valuation model and the continued challenges arising from modified consumer shopping behavior in the post-COVID-19 period coupled with revisions to our long-term strategy and outlook. These noncash charges were included in Impairment of intangible assets in our condensed consolidated statements of income and in Asset impairments within Operating Activities in our condensed consolidated statements of cash flows.

In the second quarter of 2023, we conducted forecasting and strategic reviews and integration assessments of our Softex Indonesia business, acquired in the fourth quarter of 2020, and with performance below expectations since acquisition, we revised internal financial projections of the business to reflect updated expectations of future financial performance. As a result of separate management reviews, we also have revised internal financial projections associated with our acquisition of a controlling interest in Thinx as a result of performance below expectations.

The following fair value information is based on a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The three levels in the hierarchy used to measure fair value are:

There are no adjustments required to be made to net income for purposes of computing basic and diluted EPS. The dilutive effect of stock options and other stock-based awards is reflected in diluted EPS by application of the treasury stock method. The average number of common shares outstanding is reconciled to those used in the basic and diluted EPS computations as follows:

Net unrealized currency gains or losses resulting from the translation of assets and liabilities of foreign subsidiaries, except those in highly inflationary economies, are recorded in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income ("AOCI"). For these operations, changes in exchange rates generally do not affect cash flows; therefore, unrealized translation adjustments are recorded in AOCI rather than net income. Upon sale or substantially complete liquidation of any of these subsidiaries, the applicable unrealized translation would be removed from AOCI and reported as part of the gain or loss on the sale or liquidation.

Translation adjustments result from translating foreign entities' financial statements into U.S. dollars from their functional currencies. The risk to any particular entity's net assets is reduced to the extent that the entity is financed with local currency borrowings. A portion of our balance sheet translation exposure for certain affiliates, which results from changes in translation rates between the affiliates’ functional currencies and the U.S. dollar, is hedged with cross-currency swap contracts and certain foreign denominated debt which are designated as net investment hedges. The foreign currency exposure on certain non-functional currency denominated monetary assets and liabilities, primarily intercompany loans and accounts payable, is hedged with primarily undesignated derivative instruments.

Interest rate risk is managed using a portfolio of variable and fixed-rate debt composed of short and long-term instruments. Interest rate swap contracts may be used to facilitate the maintenance of the desired ratio of variable and fixed-rate debt and are designated as fair value hedges. From time to time, we also hedge the anticipated issuance of fixed-rate debt, and these contracts are designated as cash flow hedges.

We use derivative instruments, such as commodity forward and price swap contracts, to hedge a portion of our exposure to market risk arising from changes in prices of certain commodities. These derivatives are designated as cash flow hedges of specific quantities of the underlying commodity expected to be purchased in future months. In addition, we utilize negotiated contracts of varying durations along with strategic pricing mechanisms to manage volatility for a portion of our commodity costs.

Derivative instruments that are designated and qualify as fair value hedges are predominantly used to manage interest rate risk. The fair values of these interest rate derivative instruments are recorded as an asset or liability, as appropriate, with the offset recorded in Interest expense. The offset to the change in fair values of the related debt is also recorded in Interest expense. Any realized gain or loss on the derivatives that hedge interest rate risk is amortized to Interest expense over the life of the related debt. As of September 30, 2024, the aggregate notional values and carrying values of debt subject to outstanding interest rate contracts designated as fair value hedges were $525 and $493, respectively. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, gains or losses recognized in Interest expense for interest rate swaps were not significant.

For derivative instruments that are designated and qualify as cash flow hedges, the gain or loss on the derivative instrument is initially recorded in AOCI, net of related income taxes, and recognized in earnings in the same income statement line and period that the hedged exposure affects earnings. As of September 30, 2024, outstanding commodity forward and price swap contracts were in place to hedge a portion of our estimated requirements of the related underlying commodities in the remainder of 2024 and future periods. As of September 30, 2024, the aggregate notional value of outstanding foreign exchange derivative contracts designated as cash flow hedges was $3.1 billion. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, and 2023, no significant gains or losses were reclassified into Interest expense, Cost of products sold or Other (income) and expense, net as a result of the discontinuance of cash flow hedges due to the original forecasted transaction no longer being probable of occurring.

As of September 30, 2024, net losses expected to be reclassified from AOCI into Interest expense, Cost of products sold or Other (income) and expense, net during the next twelve months are $48. The maximum maturity of cash flow hedges in place as of September 30, 2024 is August 2027.

For derivative instruments that are designated and qualify as net investment hedges, the aggregate notional value was $1.7 billion as of September 30, 2024. We exclude the interest accruals on cross-currency swap contracts and the forward points on foreign exchange forward contracts from the assessment and measurement of hedge effectiveness. We recognize the interest accruals on cross-currency swap contracts in earnings within Interest expense. We amortize the forward points on foreign exchange contracts into earnings within Interest expense over the life of the hedging relationship. Changes in fair value of net investment hedges are recorded in AOCI and offset the change in the value of the net investment being hedged. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and September 30, 2023, unrealized gains of $5 and $21, respectively, related to net investment hedge fair value changes were recorded in AOCI and no significant amounts were reclassified from AOCI to Interest expense.

Gains or losses on undesignated foreign exchange hedging instruments are immediately recognized in Other (income) and expense, net. Gains of $54 and losses of $16 were recorded in the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Gains of $22 and losses of $22 were recorded in the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The effect on earnings from the use of these non-designated derivatives is substantially neutralized by the transactional gains and losses recorded on the underlying assets and liabilities. As of September 30, 2024, the notional value of these undesignated derivative instruments was approximately $2.8 billion.

We are organized into operating segments based on product groupings. These operating segments have been aggregated into three reportable global business segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue and K-C Professional. The reportable segments were determined in accordance with how our Chief Executive Officer, who is our chief operating decision maker, and our executive managers develop and execute global strategies to drive growth and profitability. These strategies include global plans for branding and product positioning, technology, research and development programs, cost reductions including supply chain management, and capacity and capital investments for each of these businesses. Segment management is evaluated on several factors, including operating profit. Segment operating profit excludes unallocated general corporate expenses, Other (income) and expense, net and income and expense not associated with ongoing operations of the segments, including the costs of corporate decisions related to the 2024 Transformation Initiative described in Note 2.

We have a supplier finance program managed through two global financial institutions under which we agree to pay the financial institutions the stated amount of confirmed invoices from our participating suppliers on the invoice due date. We, or the global financial institutions, may terminate our agreements at any time upon 30 days written notice. The global financial institutions may terminate our agreements at any time upon three days written notice in the event there are insufficient funds available for disbursement. We do not provide any forms of guarantees under these agreements. Supplier participation in the program is solely up to the supplier, and the participating suppliers negotiate their arrangements directly with the global financial institutions. We have no economic interest in a supplier’s decision to participate in the program, and their participation has no bearing on our payment terms or amounts due. The payment terms that we have with our suppliers under this program generally range from 75 to 180 days and are considered commercially reasonable. The outstanding amount related to the suppliers participating in this program was $1.0 billion as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, and was recorded within Trade accounts payable.

This management's discussion and analysis ("MD&A") of financial condition and results of operations is intended to provide investors with an understanding of our recent performance, financial condition and prospects. Dollar amounts are reported in millions, except per share amounts, unless otherwise noted. The following will be discussed and analyzed:

This section presents a discussion and analysis of our net sales, operating profit and other information relevant to an understanding of the results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024.