Procter & Gamble raises earnings forecast but quarterly sales disappoint

Procter
&
Gamble on
Friday
reported
mixed
quarterly
results
but
raised
its
full-year
earnings
outlook.

Shares
of
the
company
were
roughly
flat
in
premarket
trading.

Here’s
what
P&G
reported
compared
with
what
Wall
Street
was
expecting,
based
on
a
survey
of
analysts
by
LSEG:

• Earnings per
  share:
  $1.52
  vs.
  $1.41
  expected
• Revenue:
  $20.2
  billion
  vs.
  $20.41
  billion
  expected

P&G
reported
fiscal
third-quarter
net
income
attributable
to
the
company
of
$3.75
billion,
or
$1.52
per
share,
up
from
$3.4
billion,
or
$1.37
per
share,
a
year
earlier.

Net
sales rose
1%
to
$20.41
billion.
Organic
sales,
which
strips
out
acquisitions,
divestitures
and
foreign
currency,
increased
3%
in
the
quarter.

But
the
company’s
quarterly
volume
was
flat
for
the
second
consecutive
quarter.
In
October,
executives
said
that
they
anticipated
returning
to
volume
growth
in
fiscal
2024.
Three
quarters
in,
the
company
hasn’t
yet
lured
back
the
customers
it
scared
away
with
its
price
hikes
over
the
last
two
years.

However,
three
of
P&G’s
divisions
reported
volume
growth
for
the
quarter.
Its
beauty
segment,
which
includes
Olay
and
Pantene,
saw
volume
rise
1%,
fueled
by
innovation
in
personal
care.
The
company’s
grooming
business,
home
to
its
Gillette
and
Venus
razors,
reported
volume
growth
of
2%.
And
fabric
and
home
care,
which
includes
Febreze
and
Swiffer,
saw
1%
volume
growth.

But
P&G’s
health
care
and
baby,
feminine
and
family
care
divisions
saw
volume
drop
further.
The
company
blamed
its
higher
prices
and
a
weaker
cold
and
flu
season
for
the
declines.

For
the
full
year,
P&G
is
now
expecting
core
net
earnings
per
share
growth
of
10%
to
11%,
up
from
its
prior
range
of
8%
to
9%.
The
company
also
raised
its
projection
for
unadjusted
earnings
growth
to
a
range
of
1%
to
2%,
up
from
its
previous
forecast
of
down
1%
to
flat.
P&G
maintained
its
outlook
of
2%
to
4%
sales
growth
in
2024.