Procter & Gamble earnings beat as consumers hang on to pandemic cleaning habits; price hikes ahead

Procter & Gamble on Tuesday topped analysts’ estimates for quarterly earnings and revenue as consumers maintained pandemic buying trends like purchasing more cleaning supplies and started buying beauty products again.

The company, whose portfolio includes Tide detergent, Charmin toilet paper and Pampers diapers, also announced that it would implement price increases on some products this autumn.

Shares of the company were flat 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: $1.26 vs. $1.19 expected
• Revenue: $18.1 billion vs. $17.9 billion expected

P&G reported fiscal third-quarter net income of $3.27 billion, or $1.26 per share, up from $2.92 billion, or $1.12 per share, a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting earnings per share of $1.19.

Net sales rose 5% to $18.1 billion, beating expectations of $17.9 billion. Organic revenue grew 4% in the quarter.

The company reiterated its fiscal 2021 outlook, forecasting sales growth of 5% to 6% and adjusted earnings growth of 8% to 10%.

P&G also said that it’s started implementing price hikes across its baby care, feminine care and adult incontinence products in the United States to offset rising commodity costs. Price increases will vary by brand but will be in the range of mid-to-high single digits. Consumers can expect the price increases to go into effect in September. Rival Kimberly-Clark, who makes Huggies, has already announced price hikes on some of its products.

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