Colgate-Palmolive forecasts fall in 2019 profit

(Reuters) - Colgate-Palmolive Co forecast a surprise fall in 2019 profit on Friday, as the world's largest toothpaste maker spent more on advertising, while battling higher commodity costs.

The company's share fell 3 percent to 60.4 before the bell.

Colgate is spending more on advertising as it battles competition from brands such as Procter & Gamble's Oral-B and Unilever's Close Up, especially in emerging markets.

Like other consumer goods companies, Colgate has also struggled with rising commodity costs in the last year, forcing it to raise prices in many markets.

Colgate said it expects a mid-single-digit decline in earnings per share in 2019, excluding certain charges, while analysts were expecting a 2.4 percent rise, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

For the fourth quarter, Colgate's adjusted net income fell 3 percent to $638 million. On a per-share basis, it earned 74 cents, beating analysts' estimates of 73 cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Net sales fell to $3.81 billion from $3.89 billion, beating estimates of $3.77 billion.

(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)