Procter & Gamble Profits Up as Company Plans Buyback

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Procter & Gamble Profits Up as Company Plans Buyback

The consumer durable giant, The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) reported an increase of 45 percent its net income for the fourth quarter. The major contribution was the boost in sales of its snacks division. At the same time, the world’s largest consumer product maker’s revenue declined as price increase was equally offset by the stronger dollar. The higher pricing contributed 4 percentage points to revenue which was offset by the same 4 percent decline by stronger dollar.

Net income for the quarter climbed to 63 billion or $1.24 per share against 2.51 billion, or 84 cents per share for the same period last year. The consumer durable giant beats analyst expectations of 77 cents per share by earning 82 cents per share, excluding benefit and restructuring costs. Revenue declined to $20.21 billion from $20.45 billion last year, was slightly below the $20.26 billion analyst expectations. However the revenue rose by 3 percent excluding acquisitions or selling businesses and some foreign exchange transactions. P&G also announced plans to buy back $4 billion of its shares this year, which was in complete contrast to its earlier plans of not to buyback any shares.

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s global market share was down by half a percentage point, while its overall market share was stagnant or increased in one-third of P&G’s categories, mainly due to the strategy of raising prices in some areas and lowering them in others. The emerging markets contributed about 30 percent of its sales and company is trying hard there to balance its growth. P&G rose prices in some categories last quarter to compensate for higher commodity costs, with the promise to roll back some prices. So in this quarter company reported that price rollbacks in some segments like detergents in the U.S. and in blades and razors business have helped it to regain lost market share in those categories. In recent years The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) have been struggling as growth have slowed significantly in developed markets, which contributes upto 60 percent to sales, at the same time in emerging markets like Venezuela and Argentina it is facing mandated price cuts and import curbs. The company is also under pressure from activist investor William Ackman, who bought 1 percent stake in the company last month and is demanding for change.

For the next quarter i.e. July to September, P&G expects adjusted net income of 91 cents to 97 cents per share with 4 to 6 percent decline in revenue.  P&G Chief Executive Officer Bob McDonald also announced a $10 billion restructuring program in February and plans to focus on core categories, countries and innovations.

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