Newell Brands Inc. ( NWL ) shares are trading higher after the company reported third-quarter financial results and raised its 2024 EPS guidance.

The company reported adjusted earnings per share of 16 cents, in line with the street view. Normalized diluted earnings per share included a negative 2 cents impact associated with a company’s normalization practice change.

Quarterly sales of $1.947 billion (down 4.9%) missed the analyst consensus estimate of $1.958 billion.

Pricing in international markets to offset inflation and currency movements was a meaningful contributor to the company’s core sales performance.

Also Read: Colgate-Palmolive Beats Q3 Earnings Amid Market Share Gains And Margin Expansion, Raises 2024 Outlook

Normalized gross margin increased to 35.4% compared with 30.7% in the prior year period, representing the fifth consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement.

Normalized operating margin increased to 9.5% compared with 7.4% in the prior-year period. Normalized EBITDA increased to $250 million compared with $218 million in the prior year period.

Newell Brands ( NWL ) reported debt of $5.0 billion and cash and cash equivalents of $494 million, down from $5.1 billion and $396 million, respectively, in the year-ago period.

Mark Erceg, Newell Brands ( NWL ) Chief Financial Officer, said, “Importantly, outstanding productivity and cost reduction efforts drove third quarter gross margin to the highest level achieved since 2020 on both a GAAP and normalized basis…Given strong third quarter results, we are increasing our 2024 normalized operating margin, normalized earnings per share and operating cash flow outlook for the second time this year.”

Outlook: Newell Brands ( NWL ) expects its FY24 normalized EPS to be between 63 cents and 66 cents (estimate: 65 cents), an increase from the previous range of 60 cents to 65 cents. The company continues to expect FY24 net sales to decrease by 7% to 6%.  

Newell Brands ( NWL ) expects its fourth-quarter normalized EPS to be between 11 cents and 14 cents (estimate: 13 cents) and its net sales to decline by 7% to 4%.

Price Action: NWL shares are trading higher by 26.1% to $9.05 at last check Friday.

Read Next:

Deckers Outdoor Posts Q2 Beat, Analysts Say Hoka Shoe Company Could Maintain ‘Robust Growth Trajectory’