Oct 23, 2006. /Lesprom Network/. Kimberly-Clark Corporation reported that net sales in the third quarter of 2006 rose 5.2% to $4.2 billion, a new quarterly record. Sales were up in each of the company's four business segments, with particular strength in health care, personal care and K-C professional & other. Robust top-line growth in developing and emerging markets, where sales increased at a double-digit rate for the eighth consecutive quarter, contributed to the overall gain in sales. Diluted net income was $0.79 per share compared with $0.68 per share in 2005, an increase of 16%. Excluding charges for strategic cost reductions to streamline the company's operations, adjusted earnings in the third quarter of 2006 were $0.99 per share, in line with the company's previous guidance of $0.96 to $0.99 per share and up approximately 4% from $0.95 per share last year. The improvement was driven by the increase in sales along with widespread cost reductions, strong performance at K-C de Mexico and a lower share count. These positive factors were partially offset by significant cost inflation, a higher effective tax rate and incremental compensation expense for stock options recorded under the provisions of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) 123R. Chairman and chief executive officer Thomas J. Falk said, "We met our commitments again in the third quarter and remain on track with our objectives for the year. I'm encouraged by the continued progress K-C teams are making under our Global Business Plan, particularly in light of the inflationary pressures they've had to overcome. We're focused on the right things - delivering sustainable top- and bottom-line growth, improving ROIC, generating strong cash flow and deploying our cash in shareholder-friendly ways." Outlook Commenting on the outlook, Mr. Falk said, "The positive trends in our ongoing results in both the second and third quarters give us confidence that we can achieve further improvement in the fourth quarter. We expect solid top-line growth, driven by continued strength in developing and emerging markets, along with higher net selling prices and product mix improvements. At current exchange rates, foreign currency should also contribute positively. We also expect cost reductions will continue to ramp up and K-C de Mexico will sustain its excellent performance. On the other hand, inflation will continue to significantly impact our costs. As oil costs have come down, we are seeing some benefit in distribution costs; however, we have yet to see any meaningful reduction in the cost of polymer resins or packaging. Meanwhile, pulp costs have moved somewhat higher. In total, we anticipate adjusted earnings per share in the fourth quarter will be somewhat better than the third quarter, in a range of $1.00 to $1.02 per share. "Our improved fourth quarter results should enable us to deliver adjusted earnings per share for the full year of 2006 in a range of $3.87 to $3.89, which is consistent with both our previous guidance and external expectations." Kimberly-Clark and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 150 countries. Every day, 1.3 billion people - nearly a quarter of the world's population - trust K-C brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly- Clark holds № 1 or №2 share positions in more than 80 countries.