April 26 (Reuters) - Toothpaste maker Colgate-Palmolive ( CL )

raised forecast for annual organic sales growth on

Friday, banking on resilient demand for its highly priced

self-care and pet nutrition products.

Demand for Colgate-Palmolive's ( CL ) products, including personal

care and pet food, held strong as consumers stretched their

budgets to spend on daily essentials.

Earlier this month, larger peers Procter & Gamble ( PG ) and

Kimberly-Clark ( KMB ) also saw sales rise thanks to strong

consumer demand.

Colgate-Palmolive ( CL ) now expects full-year organic sales growth

in the range of 5% to 7%, compared with its prior forecast of 3%

to 5% growth.

Benefits from price hikes and easing costs of raw and

packaging materials helped the company expand its margins by 310

basis points to 60%.

The Palmolive shower gel maker's prices rose by 8.5% in the

first quarter, while organic sales volumes were up 1.3%,

improving from a 2% dip last year.

The company posted net sales of $5.07 billion for the

quarter ended March 31, compared with analysts' average estimate

of $4.96 billion, according to LSEG data.

On an adjusted basis, it earned 86 cents per share, topping

analysts' estimate of 81 cents per share.

Shares of the household and consumer products firm, which

are up 12% so far this year, rose 3% in premarket trading.