Sales in Latin America, where Colgate has almost three- quarters of the toothpaste market, rose 14 percent. Colgate- Palmolive, which also makes Science Diet pet foods and Irish Spring soap, boosted advertising spending 20 percent, helping revenue increase the most in at least nine years.
``The Latin American piece is the growth driver of the company,'' said Christopher Meeker, who helps manage $560 million at Farr Miller & Washington LLC, including Colgate shares.
This type of earnings announcement has been very common this season.
