P&G’s Mason Business Center employs about 2,600. The Enquirer/Rachel Richardson
Alexander Coolidge reports:
Procter & Gamble Co. reported a $2.6 billion profit for the quarter ended March 31 – an increase of 6 percent.
Sales rose 2 percent to $20.6 billion during the quarter. Analysts had expected P&G’s overall sales to climb 2.6 percent to $20.7 billion.
P&G said it grew organic sales – excluding impact of foreign exchange or acquisitions and divestitures – by 3 percent, in line with the company’s guidance.
“We delivered another quarter of steady progress,” said chief executive Bob McDonald, in a statement. “Top-line growth was in line with our expectations. Market shares improved broadly. Strong cost savings enabled us to exceed our outlook on the bottom line. We increased our dividend earlier this month, and we are now projecting to repurchase $6 billion in stock, which is at the high end of our estimated range. We expect further top-line improvement in the fourth quarter, driven by innovation and portfolio expansion, enabled by continued productivity improvement.”
The company, which makes Tide detergent and Olay moisturizer, reported a $2.4 billion profit in the same period a year ago. Core earnings per share, excluding one-time items, were 99 cents per share, compared with 96 cents per share forecast by Wall Street analysts.
