Procter & Gamble Earnings Beat Expectations, Organic Sales Up

   By Aisha Al-Muslim 
 

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) reported a profit on Friday for its fiscal first quarter of $3.2 billion, or $1.22 a share, up from $2.85 billion, or $1.06 a share, a year earlier. Core earnings were $1.12 a share, beating the $1.09 a share analysts polled by Refinitiv were expecting.

Net sales rose 0.2% to $16.69 billion from $16.65 billion, ahead of the consensus forecast of $16.46 billion. P&G said organic sales for the quarter rose 4%.

For fiscal 2019, P&G said it is maintaining its guidance for organic sales growth in the range of 2% to 3%. The company now estimates all-in sales growth in the range of down 2% to flat due to foreign exchange headwinds, compared with the previous outlook of flat to up 1%.

The company also maintained its expectation for core earnings per share growth of 3% to 8% percent for fiscal 2019 versus $4.22 in fiscal 2018. The outlook includes an estimated $1.3 billion headwind from foreign exchange and higher commodity costs.

Write to Aisha Al-Muslim at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 19, 2018 07:48 ET (11:48 GMT)

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