Excluding charges, Playtex said the loss was $92,000, or nil per share, in line with the average estimate, excluding items, of analysts polled by Reuters Estimates.
Playtex said the recent quarter included a $2.4 million loss on the sale of certain brand assets and a resulting $8.8 million tax expense, a $3.3 million charge for a legal settlement, and restructuring charges of about $1.6 million.
The year-ago quarter included gains of about $74.3 million related to the sale of its Woolite business and restructuring and asset impairment charges of about $26.7 million.
The Westport, Connecticut-based maker of personal care products such as Playtex tampons, gloves and baby bottles said net sales fell 5 percent to $133.5 million from $140.9 million a year ago.
Excluding sales from divested brands, quarterly net sales rose 3 percent, as strong sales of skin care products including Banana Boat sun screen and Wet Ones wipes offset sales declines for Beyond tampons and Playtex infant bottles.
For 2006 Playtex said it expects net sales to fall in a low-single digit range due to lost sales from divested brands. Excluding the effects of the divested brands, the company sees net sales rising in the mid-single digit range.
Operating income will be between $103 million and $108 million, including about $9 million in stock-option related expenses.
The company said it expects incremental profits from sales growth and pricing to be partially offset by higher raw material and freight costs, significant investments in new product launches and related advertising and promotional spending in the near term.
Several consumer product makers have passed along higher costs to consumers in the form of price increases to offset the impact of higher costs for oil-based products and transportation. Playtex said it absorbed much of the increased expenses with its own cost cutting, and raised prices on only one item last year, Wet Ones wipes.
For the longer term, the company said it is targeting double-digit net earnings per share every year, excluding items, and that including items the company is targeting net sales of $760 million and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of about $180 million by fiscal 2008.
In November, Playtex sold products including Baby Magic lotion, Mr. Bubble bubble bath and Ogilvie home perm kits to Cenuco Inc. (ICU.A) for $57 million.
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