Procter & Gamble Co.'s quarterly sales fell below Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, as the consumer products company had a disappointing performance at its grooming unit, which makes Gillette razors and shaving products.
Shares of Procter & Gamble fell 2% before the bell.
The company cut prices on products in the grooming business by 3% to claw back market share lost to upstarts such as Dollar Shave Club. Sales in the unit fell by 1%, to $1.65 billion, while volumes dropped by 1%.
Shrinking Market Across Continents
A shrinking market in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America region hurt revenue at its Baby, Feminine & Family Care business, leading to a 2% drop in sales at the unit – its second-biggest contributor to revenue.
For fiscal 2019, P&G said that it sees organic sales rising by 2%-3% and core earnings-per-share growth of 3%-8%.
At the midpoint of the range, fiscal 2019 core earnings per share is $4.45, above the average analyst estimate of $4.39, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Net income attributable to the company fell to $1.89 billion, or 72 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended 30 June, compared with $2.22 billion, or 82 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, P&G earned 94 cents per share, ahead of analysts' estimates of 90 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Net sales rose by 2.6%, to $16.50 billion. Analysts had forecast sales of $16.54 billion.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
