Higher prices help Procter & Gamble offset commodity costs, but Tide maker warns of more challenges
Procter & Gamble on Friday reported mixed quarterly results as the consumer products giant faced rising commodity costs and warned that it expects “significant headwinds” to persist for its fiscal 2023.
The Cincinnati-based maker of products including Pampers, Pantene and Tide said higher pricing during its fiscal fourth quarter offset a slip in sales volume, which it attributed primarily to pandemic-related lockdowns in China and reduced operations in Russia.
Shares of the company were down about 4% in premarket trading.
Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: $1.21 adjusted vs. $1.22 expected
- Revenue: $19.52 billion vs. $19.4 billion expected
For the three months ended June 30, P&G reported a net income of $3.05 billion, or $1.21 per share. In the year-ago period, it reported a net income of $2.91 billion, or $1.13 per share.
Net sales rose 3% to $19.52 billion.
In both its health care and fabric and home care units, organic sales rose 9% on higher pricing, despite flat and negative volumes, respectively.
During a media call, P&G Chief Financial Officer Andre Schulten said he was confident that the “consumer is holding up well” as the company raised prices. He attributed flat and negative volumes to reduction of business in Russia.
For its fiscal 2023, the company said it expects organic sales to be up 3% to 5% and earnings per share to be flat to up 4%. P&G expects headwinds of $3.3 billion due to foreign exchange rates, higher commodity costs and higher freight costs.
