Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE:NWL), Atlanta, GA, reported sales for the first quarter of $1.3 billion, an increase of 4.1 percent year-over-year. Profit increased 2.3 percent to $54.1 million.
"We've had a strong start to the year with first quarter core sales growth of 4.7 percent and normalized earnings per share growth of 5.9 percent," said Michael Polk, president and CEO. "Our Win Bigger businesses of Writing, Commercial Products and Tools grew over seven percent as a result of strong innovation, increased advertising investment and great sales execution. All five global business segments grew core sales, including North American core sales growth of five percent and net sales growth of over eleven percent, our best result in many years."
