UPDATE: Kimberly-Clark Issues Weak FY15 Forecast

reported a net loss in the fourth quarter and issued a downbeat forecast for 2015. Kimberly-Clark now expects FY15 earnings of $5.60 to $5.80 per share on sales of $18.54 billion to $19.13 billion. Analysts expected earnings of $6.00 per share on sales of $19.84 billion. Kimberly-Clark posted a quarterly net loss of $83 million, or $0.22 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $539 million, or $1.40 per share. The recent quarter included a charge of $462 million related to a change in the currency exchange rate of Venezuela. Excluding items, Kimberly-Clark posted earnings from continuing operations of $1.35 per share. Its sales declined 1.4% to $4.83 billion, while organic sales rose 3%. However, analysts were estimating a profit of $1.37 per share on revenue of $4.91 billion. Sales at Kimberly-Clark's personal-care segment dropped 1% to $2.3 billion, while sales in the segment declined 2% in North America. Sales at its consumer-tissue segment shrank 3% to $1.6 billion. Kimberly-Clark shares fell 3.77% to $114.49 at 9:35 a.m. ET.