Kao Posts Record Net Profit Growth In March 2016 Quarter

Kao reported net profit jumped 73 percent to 20.8 billion yen, or $187 million, for the January–March quarter in 2016, driven by recovering sales of profitable cosmetics. Net sales grew 1.7 percent to 335.1 billion yen, compared with the same quarter in 2015. Net sales would have increased 4.3 percent, if not for the effect of currency translation, the company said. Net sales overseas accounted for 37.3 percent of total net sales, compared with 38.3 percent in the previous year. Consumer Products Business posted sales growth of 3.4 percent to 276.6 billion yen. In Japan, sales increased 4.2 percent to 203.8 billion yen.