The increase in organic sales in 2023 versus 2022 was due to increases in Oral Care, Personal Care and Home Care organic sales. The increase in Oral Care was primarily due to organic sales growth in the toothpaste and mouthwash categories.

Net sales for Hill's Pet Nutrition were $4.290 billion in 2023, an increase of 15.5% from 2022, driven by volume growth of 5.0% and net selling price increases of 11.0%. Organic sales for Hill's Pet Nutrition increased 10.5% in 2023.

The company is focused on driving organic sales growth and long-term profitable growth through science-led, core and premium innovation; pursuing higher-growth adjacent categories and segments; expanding in faster-growing channels and markets and delivering margin expansion through operating leverage and efficiency.

The investments needed to drive growth are supported through continuous, Company-wide initiatives to lower costs and increase effective asset utilization. These initiatives are designed to reduce costs associated with direct materials, indirect expenses, distribution and logistics and advertising and promotional materials.

The 2022 Global Productivity Initiative is intended to reallocate resources toward strategic priorities and faster growth businesses, drive efficiencies in operations and streamline the supply chain to reduce structural costs. Implementation is expected to be substantially completed by mid-year 2024.

The company continues to work to advance culture change through the implementation of DE&I initiatives and the launch of evolved corporate values and new leadership framework throughout the organization.

The company faces risks associated with significant international operations, including changing macroeconomic conditions, political instability, environmental events, changes in exchange rates, exchange controls, and changes to trade policies and agreements.

The war in Ukraine and the related geopolitical tensions have had and continue to have a significant impact on operations in Ukraine and Russia, and the Israel-Hamas war has impacted and may continue to impact, among other things, supply chain and logistics.

The company faces vigorous competition worldwide, including from strong local competitors and from other large, multinational companies. In addition, the substantial growth in eCommerce has encouraged the entry of new competitors and business models.

The Company's share of the global toothpaste market was 41.1% for full year 2023, up 1.1 share points from full year 2022, and its share of the global manual toothbrush market was 31.5% for full year 2023, flat versus full year 2022.

The company faces competition from private label products sold by retailers, which are typically sold at lower prices than branded products.

The retail landscape in many of our markets continues to evolve as a result of the substantial growth of eCommerce, changing consumer behavior and preferences and the increased presence of alternative retail channels.

The company is focused on continuous, Company-wide initiatives to lower costs and increase effective asset utilization. These initiatives are designed to reduce costs associated with direct materials, indirect expenses, distribution and logistics and advertising and promotional materials.

The company's operations and those of its suppliers, contract manufacturers or logistics providers have been and may continue to be disrupted by a number of factors, including geopolitical events, widespread health emergencies, strikes, disruptions in logistics, and loss or impairment of key manufacturing or distribution sites.

Raw and packaging material commodities are subject to market price variations. Increases in the costs of and/or a reduction in the availability of commodities, energy, logistics or other necessary services have affected and are likely to continue to adversely affect profit margins.

The company's growth depends on the continued success of existing products, the successful identification, development and launch of innovative new and differentiated products and the expansion into adjacent categories, channels of distribution or geographies.

The company's success is and will likely increasingly be dependent on its ability to effectively leverage existing and emerging digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence and data analytics, to gain new commercial insights and develop relevant marketing and advertising to reach customers and consumers.

The legal, regulatory and ethics landscape around the use of artificial intelligence, including generative artificial intelligence, is rapidly evolving. The company is focused on adapting and using this emerging technology in an effective and ethical manner.

Aggregate share repurchases in 2023 consisted of approximately 14.7 million common shares under the 2022 Program and 0.3 million common shares to fulfill the requirements of compensation and benefit plans, for a total purchase price of $1.128 billion.

In the first quarter of 2023, the Company increased the quarterly common stock dividend to $0.48 per share from $0.47 per share, effective in the second quarter of 2023.

Capital expenditures for 2024 are expected to be approximately 3.0% of Net sales. The Company continues to focus its capital spending on projects that are expected to yield high aftertax returns.

Sustainability is critically important to the company's overall business and growth strategy. The 2025 Sustainability & Social Impact Strategy is focused on three key ambitions - preserving the environment, helping millions of homes, and driving social impact.

The company continues to implement its first-of-its-kind recyclable toothpaste tube across its toothpaste portfolio and is also focused on reducing its use of new (virgin) plastic across its portfolio.

The company is taking steps to accelerate action on climate change through science-based near-term, long-term and Net Zero 2040 emissions targets across its operations and supply chain, which have been approved by The Science Based Targets initiative.

The company expects global macroeconomic, political and market conditions to remain challenging, including as a result of inflation and higher interest rates, which may negatively impact consumer demand for its products.

The company continues to experience heightened competitive activity in certain markets from strong local competitors, from other large multinational companies and from new entrants into the market in many of its categories.

The company has been negatively affected by changes in the policies and practices of its trade customers in key markets, such as inventory destocking, fulfillment requirements, limitations on access to shelf space, and delisting of its products.