Colgate-Palmolive announced on Friday better-than-expected earnings and sales for the first quarter, and in the process raised its growth targets for 2024.

The American toothpaste giant reported sales up 6.2% to almost $5.1 billion, including organic growth of 9.8%, against a consensus of $4.6 billion.

Growth was driven primarily by increased sales in Latin America (+25.9%) and Africa/Eurasia (+16.2%).

Earnings per share amounted to $0.83, while analysts were expecting an average of $0.46 per share.

The New York-based group, which owns the Colgate, Palmolive, elmex, Ajax, Soupline and Hill's brands, is now targeting organic growth of 5% to 7% for the full year, compared with a previous forecast of 3% to 5%.

The stock was expected to rise by 1% on Friday on Wall Street in the wake of these figures.

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