Kimberly-Clark Holds Annual Meeting DALLAS, April 25, 2002 - At Kimberly-Clark Corporation's (NYSE: KMB) annual meeting today, shareholders re-elected three directors to three-year terms expiring in 2005.
Members who were re-elected are John F. Bergstrom, chairman and chief executive officer of Bergstrom Corporation; Paul J. Collins, retired vice chairman of Citigroup, Inc.; and Robert W. Decherd, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Belo Corp.
The Kimberly-Clark board is comprised of 12 members divided into three classes. There are three members in the class of 2005, four members in the class of 2004 and five members in the class of 2003, with each class having a three-year term.
In other matters, stockholders approved an executive officer achievement award program, the selection of Deloitte & Touche LLP as independent auditors, and a proposal regarding the Corporation's amended and restated rights agreement.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Wayne R. Sanders also discussed first quarter earnings, which were released earlier this week. "We're off to a good start this year despite highly competitive market conditions," he said. "We have excellent market positions and a full product pipeline to drive sales growth. Our cash flow should remain healthy, allowing us to continue to invest in growth and repurchase our common stock. When we combine that with continuing improvements in productivity and our relentless focus on reducing costs, it should translate into solid growth going forward."
President and Chief Operating Officer Thomas J. Falk reviewed with shareholders four areas driving Kimberly-Clark's competitive advantage and growth - financial strength, a global organizational structure, great global brands and product innovation.
"Our conservative capital structure and strong cash flow give us a powerful competitive position, providing funds for growth through acquisitions and a constant flow of new and improved products," Mr. Falk said.
He also pointed out that the company's three global businesses - consumer tissue, personal care and business-to-business - all offer superior-performing products that are branded and disposable, that are backed by extensive advertising and promotional programs and that have leading shares in large global categories.
"Today, Kimberly-Clark holds the No. 1 or No. 2 brands in 80 countries," he said. "Retailers around the world prefer to stock their shelves with leading brands like Huggies, Kleenex and Kotex.
"We have built categories worldwide by consistently addressing consumer needs with our proprietary technologies and products," he said. "We will continue to bring new products and line extensions to the marketplace - in fact, we have product improvements on the way in every category."
About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a leading consumer products company. Its global personal care, tissue and health care brands include Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex, Depend, Kleenex, Scott, Kimwipes, Kimberly-Clark, WypAll, Safeskin, and Tecnol. Other brands well known outside the U.S. include Andrex, Scottex, Page, Popee and Kimbies. Kimberly-Clark also is a major producer of premium business, correspondence and technical papers. The company has manufacturing operations in 42 countries and its products are sold in more than 150 countries. For more information about Kimberly-Clark and its well-known brands, visit the Kimberly-Clark Web site at www.kimberly-clark.com.
Replay of Business Review from 2002 Annual Meeting
Stockholders and others are invited to listen to an audio playback and PowerPoint presentation of the business review portion of the 2002 annual meeting. This replay can be accessed by following instructions set out in the Investors section of the company's Web site at www.kimberly-clark.com.
Certain matters contained in this news release concerning the business outlook, including new product introductions, cost savings and acquisitions, anticipated financial and operating results, strategies, contingencies and transactions of the company constitute forward-looking statements and are based upon management's expectations and beliefs concerning future events impacting the company. There can be no assurance that these future events will occur as anticipated or that the company's results will be as estimated. For a description of certain factors that could cause the company's future results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements, see the section of Part I, Item 1 of the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001 entitled "Factors That May Affect Future Results."
Members who were re-elected are John F. Bergstrom, chairman and chief executive officer of Bergstrom Corporation; Paul J. Collins, retired vice chairman of Citigroup, Inc.; and Robert W. Decherd, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Belo Corp.
The Kimberly-Clark board is comprised of 12 members divided into three classes. There are three members in the class of 2005, four members in the class of 2004 and five members in the class of 2003, with each class having a three-year term.
In other matters, stockholders approved an executive officer achievement award program, the selection of Deloitte & Touche LLP as independent auditors, and a proposal regarding the Corporation's amended and restated rights agreement.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Wayne R. Sanders also discussed first quarter earnings, which were released earlier this week. "We're off to a good start this year despite highly competitive market conditions," he said. "We have excellent market positions and a full product pipeline to drive sales growth. Our cash flow should remain healthy, allowing us to continue to invest in growth and repurchase our common stock. When we combine that with continuing improvements in productivity and our relentless focus on reducing costs, it should translate into solid growth going forward."
President and Chief Operating Officer Thomas J. Falk reviewed with shareholders four areas driving Kimberly-Clark's competitive advantage and growth - financial strength, a global organizational structure, great global brands and product innovation.
"Our conservative capital structure and strong cash flow give us a powerful competitive position, providing funds for growth through acquisitions and a constant flow of new and improved products," Mr. Falk said.
He also pointed out that the company's three global businesses - consumer tissue, personal care and business-to-business - all offer superior-performing products that are branded and disposable, that are backed by extensive advertising and promotional programs and that have leading shares in large global categories.
"Today, Kimberly-Clark holds the No. 1 or No. 2 brands in 80 countries," he said. "Retailers around the world prefer to stock their shelves with leading brands like Huggies, Kleenex and Kotex.
"We have built categories worldwide by consistently addressing consumer needs with our proprietary technologies and products," he said. "We will continue to bring new products and line extensions to the marketplace - in fact, we have product improvements on the way in every category."
About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a leading consumer products company. Its global personal care, tissue and health care brands include Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex, Depend, Kleenex, Scott, Kimwipes, Kimberly-Clark, WypAll, Safeskin, and Tecnol. Other brands well known outside the U.S. include Andrex, Scottex, Page, Popee and Kimbies. Kimberly-Clark also is a major producer of premium business, correspondence and technical papers. The company has manufacturing operations in 42 countries and its products are sold in more than 150 countries. For more information about Kimberly-Clark and its well-known brands, visit the Kimberly-Clark Web site at www.kimberly-clark.com.
Replay of Business Review from 2002 Annual Meeting
Stockholders and others are invited to listen to an audio playback and PowerPoint presentation of the business review portion of the 2002 annual meeting. This replay can be accessed by following instructions set out in the Investors section of the company's Web site at www.kimberly-clark.com.
Certain matters contained in this news release concerning the business outlook, including new product introductions, cost savings and acquisitions, anticipated financial and operating results, strategies, contingencies and transactions of the company constitute forward-looking statements and are based upon management's expectations and beliefs concerning future events impacting the company. There can be no assurance that these future events will occur as anticipated or that the company's results will be as estimated. For a description of certain factors that could cause the company's future results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements, see the section of Part I, Item 1 of the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001 entitled "Factors That May Affect Future Results."