Procter & Gamble Co beat quarterly sales estimates, as the consumer goods giant benefited from higher prices and resurgent demand for cleaning products due to a spike in COVID-19 infections.
P&G's shares rose 1.8% in premarket trading after the company also raised its full-year organic sales forecast to a range of 4-5% from 2-4% earlier.
P&G said sales in fabric and home care unit, the company's biggest segment and home to brands such as Tide and Mr. Clean, rose 7% in its second quarter, as the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant since late last year led to consumers stocking up again on detergents and surface cleaning products.
Quarterly Performance
Overall net sales rose 6% to $20.95 billion, also helped by price increases the company implemented last year to cope with higher commodity and freight costs. Analysts on average had expected sales of $20.34 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
The beauty segment saw a 2% growth in organic sales in the second quarter, while skin and personal care reported low single digit growth, primarily driven by volume growth in personal care segment driven by innovation, market growth and pricing.
Organic sales in the hair care segment also increased in low single digits, primarily due to increased pricing.
Fabric and home care segment registered organic sales growth of 8% year-on-year, boosted by strong growth of unit dose detergents and fabric enhancers.
P&G said it now expects a hit of about $2.8 billion related to commodity and freight costs this fiscal year, compared with a prior forecast of about $2.3 billion.
In October 2021, Procter & Gamble beat quarterly sales estimates as the easing of pandemic-related restrictions boosted demand for its personal care products, while the company warned of higher commodity and transportation expenses.
News by Reuters, additional reporting by ESM. For more A-Brands news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
