Procter & Gamble Sales Short Of Expectations for Latest Quarter
January 23 2020 - 08:18AM
Dow Jones News
By Micah Maidenberg
Procter & Gamble Co. reported stronger sales for its latest
quarter, but Wall Street analysts expected the consumer-products
giant to deliver more.
The Cincinnati company said Thursday organic sales, a measure
that excludes currency moves and deals, increased 5% from a year
ago. Overall, P&G reported $18.24 billion in quarterly sales,
short of the $18.42 billion consensus compiled by FactSet.
Shares of P&G fell 2.5% in premarket trading Thursday.
P&G's beauty business, covering brands like Olay and
Pantene, delivered the strongest growth in the fiscal second
quarter ended Dec. 31, with organic sales rising 8%. The health
unit, which includes products such as Vicks cough drops and Crest
toothpaste, recorded a 7% gain.
P&G has benefited of late in part because consumers have
proved willing to pay up for the more expensive products it has
developed, like specialty toothpaste. Prices were up 1% across its
portfolio in the quarter, P&G said.
A healthier consumer environment in the U.S. has helped the
company as well. Sales at retail shops, restaurants and online rose
0.3% on a seasonally-adjusted basis in December from a month
earlier, according to the Commerce Department, a solid showing for
the month including the holiday shopping season.
The company said Thursday it now expects organic sales to
increase 4% to 5% for its current fiscal year, up from a prior
forecast that anticipated a 3% to 5% gain on that measure.
Second-quarter profit rose to $3.72 billion, or $1.41 a share,
from $3.19 billion, or $1.22 a share, the year earlier.
The company's adjusted profit of $1.42 a share was higher than
forecasts from analysts by 5 cents.
Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 23, 2020 08:03 ET (13:03 GMT)
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