Plastic household goods manufacturer Tupperware (Orlando, Florida / USA; www.tupperware.com) has reported first quarter 2007 operating profit of USD 37.8m, up 17% on the same period last year. Sales increased by 8% year-on-year to USD 457m. Sales growth of 10% in Europe, excluding Germany which saw a decline, along with particularly strong growth in Japan, Malaysia, the US, China, India and Indonesia helped boost overall sales performance. Profit gains in Asia Pacific and North America were offset by a general decline in Europe, primarily from Germany.

In 2006 sales of Tupperware increased 36% to USD 1.74 bn. This growth is attributable above all to the "International Beauty" division acquired in 2005, which grew from USD 72m in 2005 to USD 483m last year. In the core business of household items, the Asia Pacific region showed particularly high growth of 17%. Europe and North America remained steady at 2% and 1% respectively. The operating results of the US company increased from USD 111m to USD 152m.

The company is forecasting full year sales up 3-5% at around USD 1.85 bn in 2007. Sales in Asia Pacific region and North America are expected to increase in the high-single digit percentage range with a small increase in return on sales in Asia Pacific and a mid-single digit return on sales in North America. Sales and profits in Europe are expected to remain the same as 2006.

e-Service:
Detailed information on Tupperware in Q4 and full year 2006 as PDF document (94 KB)