Procter & Gamble beats and raises its forecast

AP Photo/Mark Lennihan

Tide

• Procter & Gamble beat on both the top and bottom lines.
• The consumer-goods maker raised its full-year guidance for organic sales growth.
• Shares were little changed following the results.
• Watch Procter & Gamble trade live.

Procter & Gamble reported third-quarter results on Tuesday morning that beat on both the top and bottom lines and raised its full-year organic-sales forecast, but shares were trading little changed near $105.50 ahead of the opening bell.

The consumer-goods maker reported core earnings of $1.06 a share on net sales of $16.5 billion, topping the $1.03 and $16.36 billion that analysts surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting. An unfavorable exchange rate was a 5% hit to the company's top line.

P&G's solid results were anchored by strength in its beauty segment as organic sales jumped 9% versus a year ago. It's skin and personal care divison saw sales spike by a mid-teens percentage due to innovation, a positive product mix, and increased pricing.

"We delivered another quarter of strong organic sales growth, enabling us to further increase our outlook for the year," said David Taylor, the company's chairman, president, and CEO.

"Cash generation also remains strong, supporting an increase in our cash productivity target and extending our long track record of dividend increases. Our focus on superiority, productivity and improving P&G's organization and culture is delivering improved results despite a challenging competitive and macroeconomic environment."

Looking ahead, Procter & Gamble expects sales to grow by as much as 1%, including a hit of 3 to 4 percentage points attributed to foreign exchange and the positive impact from acquisitions and divestitures.

The company raised its full-year guidance for organic sales growth to 4%, up from a range of 2% to 4%.

Procter & Gamble shares were up 15% this year through Thursday.

Markets Insider