TOKYO—Slumping demand for personal care products and cosmetics bit into Kao Corp.’s results for the year ended March 31.
Net profit dropped 3.2 percent to 64.5 billion yen, or $645 million while sales declined 3.2 percent to 1.28 trillion yen, or $12.8 billion, as business in western countries slowed and the yen appreciated. Those numbers contrast sharply with October’s guidance, predicting a 3.7 percent jump in net profit and sales growth of 0.9 percent.
Full-year operating profit dropped 16.7 percent to 96.8 billion yen, or $968 million.
Sales of the consumer products division that includes personal care and cleaning products, dropped 3.7 percent. Lower sales of prestige beauty products contributed to a 6.3 percent drop for the beauty division.
For the fiscal year ending next March, the company forecasts net profit will slide 13.1 percent to 56 billion yen, or $571.4 million. Sales are seen declining 5.2 percent to 1.21 trillion yen, or $12.34 billion.