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Procter & Gamble raised prices by 7% in the fourth quarter.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Shares of
Procter & Gamble
were rising Friday after the consumer-goods company beat earnings and revenue expectations following more price increases.
Procter & Gamble
(ticker: PG) reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $1.37 a share on revenue of $20.6 billon. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting the maker of Tide laundry detergent to post earnings of $1.32 a share on revenue of $20 billion.
The company also said it raised prices by 7% during the quarter, which follows a 10% increase in the third quarter.
The price increases led to sales volumes declines across all division during the quarter, led by decreases in health care and fabric and home care..
For fiscal 2024, Procter & Gamble said it expects sales growth of between 3% and 4% from $82 billion in 2023. The company also anticipates fiscal-year earnings of between $6.25 and $6.43 a share, up from fiscal 2023’s profit of $5.90.
“As we look forward to fiscal 2024, we expect to deliver strong organic sales growth, EPS growth and free cash flow productivity—each in-line with our long-term growth algorithm, despite continued macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges,” Chief Executive Jon Moeller said in the earnings release.
Shares of Procter & Gamble were rising1.7% in premarket trading Friday to $154.70. Coming into the session, the stock has risen 0.4% this year.
This is breaking news. Read a preview of Procter & Gamble’s earnings below and check back for more analysis soon.
Procter & Gamble
is scheduled to report fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on Friday before the opening bell, and traders will want to see how customer spending has impacted the consumer-goods company.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet are expecting
Procter & Gamble
(ticker: PG), which owns brands such as Tide, Pampers, Dawn, and Olay, to report earnings of $1.32 a share on revenue of $20 billion. That would be a jump from last year’s fourth-quarter earnings of $1.21 a share on revenue of $19.5 billion.
Earlier this year, Procter & Gamble said it raised costs during its fiscal third quarter by 10% to offset inflationary costs. This was a positive step for the company, which at the time raised its outlook for organic sales growth.
Concerns about a weaking consumer remain top of mind for investors, especially on the heels of U.S. retail sales, which Census Bureau data shows grew at a slower rate than economists expected in June.
Stubbornly high inflation and rising interest rates have hit many shoppers’ pockets, causing them to try and find bargains when they can. That could be a problem for Procter & Gamble, which sells name-brand items at a higher price point than store brands.
But Procter & Gamble has a wide variety of products—and Raymond James analyst Olivia Tong believes that this will benefit the company in a time when customers are possibly looking to trade down.
“We think PG will continue to face the most pressure in its categories with higher private label exposure like tissue/towel, but given the breadth of price points across PG’s portfolio today vs. prior downturns, we expect the company to catch trade down from its own brands just as the Gain brand is doing for Tide currently,” Tong wrote in a research note earlier this week. She rates Procter & Gamble at Outperform with a $175 price target.
There’s also bright spots in data that could be a good sign for the consumer staples stock, which has gained 0.9% this year. The U.S. economy grew at a 2.4% annual rate in the second quarter, which was more than economists expected and partially driven by consumer spending.
“Consumers are getting a reprieve from the rising costs of core goods, and the U.S. economy is off to a stronger start to the first half of the year,” Steve Rick, chief economist at TruStage, wrote in a note Thursday.
Write to Angela Palumbo at angela.palumbo@dowjones.com
