P&G shares rise as profit beats estimates
Procter & Gamble reported Friday a $11.6 billion profit for the fiscal year ended June 30 – up 3 percent from the same time last year.
Sales rose 1 percent to $83.1 billion. Earnings beat analyst expectations, but sales fell short of Wall Street projections.
“We met our objectives in a very difficult operating environment,” CEO A.G. Lafley said. “Still, we have more work to do to deliver the profitable sales growth and strong cash productivity we are capable of delivering.”
Wall Street analysts had forecast the Cincinnati-based maker of Tide detergent and Crest tooth paste to report an annual $12 billion profit before one-time items on sales of $84 billion, according to Bloomberg.
P&G reported annual earnings per share before one-time items of $4.22 for the fiscal year and 95 cents for the fourth quarter. Fourth quarter sales were $20.2 billion, down 1 percent.
P&G was predicted to report annual $4.19 earnings per share before one-time items, according to Bloomberg. For the fourth quarter ended June 30, the company was expected to report 91 cents of earnings per share before one-time items or roughly a $2.6 billion profit on $20.5 billion in sales.
The results mark the end of the first full fiscal year since A.G. Lafley returned to the helm of P&G in May 2013.
Previously CEO from 2000-2009, Lafley came back after Bob McDonald stepped down following four years of inconsistent growth.
During his first year back, Lafley has cut a $2.9 billion deal to sell off the pet food business, begun a review of U.S. factory operations for consolidation plans and launched new products like a lower-cost version of its flagship detergent Tide Simply Clean & Fresh and a pivoting-head Gillette razor.
Shares jumped more than 2% in pre-market trading after closing at $77.32 Thursday, down 84 cents.
Source: Usatoday
