Consumer Giant Plans Expansion: Colgate-Palmolive Co. said...

Consumer Giant Plans Expansion: Colgate-Palmolive Co. said this week that it plans to step up new product introductions in the developing world.

New York-based Colgate generates 55% of its profit from operations in 25 developed countries and the remainder from 169 developing countries.

At the company’s annual meeting in New York, Reuben Mark, chairman and chief executive officer, told shareholders that the company will continue to expand into the developing world. In 1995, the company will enter 11 new countries, including Vietnam, Estonia and Latvia. In 1994, the maker of Colgate toothpaste and Irish Spring soap introduced 493 products, up from 199 four years earlier.

In the first quarter, Colgate earnings rose 4.6% to $156.5 million, or $1.05 a share, from $149.6 million, or 98 cents, a year earlier, fueled by improving results in the United States and strong results in Latin America.