Sales of Irwin tools, Sharpie pens and baby gear under its Graco brand helped Atlanta-based Newell Rubbermaid grow sales in the fourth quarter to $1.52 billion, up 1.6 percent from the year before, the company said Friday.
Much of the consumer goods giant’s sales increases came from Latin America, which saw an increase of more than 21 percent, the company said in reporting its fourth-quarter earnings. That helped offset weakness in Europe, which was down 4.4 percent.
North America sales were up 2.2 percent while in Asia they were up 0.9 percent.
Sales for the year for were up 0.6 to about $5.9 billion, compared to $5.86 billion in 2011.
Newell Rubbermaid manufactures a wide variety of brands, including Calphalon cookware, Ace and Goody grooming products and Levolor blinds. The company on Wednesday announced the creation of the Hilmor brand, tools targeted at professionals in heating, ventilation and air conditioning and refrigeration.
The company had fourth-quarter profit of about $101.9 million or 35 cents a share. That compared to $80.4 million or 27 cents a share during the same period in 2011.
The décor business continued to weigh negatively on the company in part of because of store redesign at JCPenney, one of Newell Rubbermaid’s biggest customers. However, the segment is forecast to do better in 2013, though it may not completely come out of its slump.
“The drag will not be as significant as it was in 2012,” Newell President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Polk said in a conference call.
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