Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator's Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Omar Saad from Credit Suisse. Omar, you may proceed.
Omar Saad - Credit Suisse
Thanks. Good morning, guys. Congratulations on some very nice performance here, job well done. So I had to do a double take, Maurice. Did you — I think I heard you right, did you give 2010 topline guidance? I just want to make sure I heard —
Maurice S. Reznik
We did.
Omar Saad - Credit Suisse
That is actually what you did, and if that is true, I think you got to be the first consumer company out there to talk about 2010 at this point. What gives you the comfort and what gives you the position to be able to kind of grow that decision to be able to put that out there.
Maurice S. Reznik
Well, as we look at particularly our branded business, and we have also some commitments on a go-forward basis into the first part of 2010, and so we see a cadence and a stability to our branded business, and that's really what's driving it.
Omar Saad - Credit Suisse
Okay. It's not like you're looking for an acceleration or anything like that. In fact, based on some of your second-half guidance, it sounds like you're being more conservative about 2010.
Maurice S. Reznik
Our view is that we will continue to gain market share on a go-forward basis.
Christopher W. Vieth
And it's appropriate given where we are, Omar, to be somewhat conservative, and we'll continue to fill out the assumptions as we travel through the next couple of quarters, but we wanted to give you a little insight as to what we're starting to see.
Omar Saad - Credit Suisse
Sure, sure, thank you. One quick question on gross margin, Chris, you mentioned the mix shift impacting the third quarter — I was a little bit surprised the mix shift didn't help you more this quarter. Can you help me understand the dynamics there?
Christopher W. Vieth
Well, we actually came in roughly at the top end of our guidance for the second quarter so we're pretty pleased with the way things came out, but in large round numbers in the second quarter, roughly half of the decline is related to mix and the other half is related to the promotional activity — the deliberate actions that we took and guided to taking in the second quarter.
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