Tide laundry detergent is shown on display in Compton, California.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Procter & Gamble on Wednesday reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped analysts’ expectations, despite volume falling for the sixth consecutive quarter.
Shares of the corporate closed trading on Wednesday up 2.58% on the report.
Here’s what P&G reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly referred to as Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: $1.83 vs. $1.72 expected
- Revenue: $21.87 billion vs. $21.58 billion expected
P&G reported fiscal first-quarter net income attributable to the corporate of $4.52 billion, or $1.83 per share, up from $3.94 billion, or $1.57 per share, a yr earlier.
Net sales rose 6% to $21.87 billion. The corporate’s organic revenue increased 7% within the quarter, helped by higher prices for P&G’s products.
But the corporate’s volume shrank 1%. The metric excludes the impact of currency and pricing changes to reflect demand.
For roughly two years, P&G has been raising prices on its products like Tide detergent and Charmin toilet paper.
“For obvious reasons we do not comment on the longer term direction of pricing, but I’ll inform you that we’re pleased with where we sit currently,” CEO Jon Moeller said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
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P&G hasn’t gotten any pushback from retailers about its higher prices, beyond “normal discussions” about maximizing customer value, CFO Andre Schulten told analysts on the corporate’s conference call.
But some consumers aren’t pleased with P&G’s higher prices. Some shoppers have switched to cheaper private-label alternatives consequently, and P&G said it saw “pricing-related volume declines” across lots of its brands. Nonetheless, its volume declines have narrowed in recent quarters, and the corporate expects to report volume growth for the fiscal yr.
The corporate’s baby, feminine and family care segment reported its volume fell 3%. The division includes brands like Pampers and Bounty.
P&G’s grooming segment, which incorporates Venus and Gillette products, reported a 2% drop in volume.
The corporate’s fabric and home-care business saw its volume shrink 1%, whilst customers bought more of its premium cleansing products, which include Swiffer and Cascade.
P&G’s health-care division was the one segment to report volume growth for the quarter. The corporate said it saw strong demand for respiratory products, like those made by Vicks.
The corporate also widened its outlook for fiscal 2024 revenue because it anticipates that foreign exchange rates could possibly be a bigger drag than previously expected. The corporate now projects revenue growth of two% to 4%, quite than its prior forecast of three% to 4%.
P&G reiterated its full-year forecast for organic revenue growth, which strips out the impact of acquisitions, divestitures and foreign currency, and for earnings per share growth. But Schulten warned about economic conditions that would weaken performance, like rising energy costs heading into the winter, lower household savings rates and the health of the Chinese market.
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