Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Co raised its full-year sales forecast and said it plans to continue raising prices despite lower quarterly profit and declining sales volumes as the rising costs of Tide detergent and other household supplies prompted customers to cut back on spending at the end of last year.
For the second quarter ended December 31, the Cincinnati-based consumer-product giant’s sales volumes fell 6%, which is the biggest quarterly drop in years, with declines at each of the company’s five major business units.
P&G increased prices by 10% in the period, helping the company report a 5% jump in organic sales, which exclude currency swings and acquisitions.
P&G said it expects higher organic sales growth for the fiscal year ending in June but that profit would likely be at the low end of its forecast. The company raised its outlook for organic sales growth to a range of 4% to 5% versus the prior fiscal year from a prior growth range of 3% to 5%.
The company reported 2Q fiscal year 2023 net sales of $20.8 billion, a decrease of 1% compared to a year earlier. On a per-share basis, P&G said it had earnings of $1.59, matching Wall Street’s consensus estimate.
“We delivered solid results in the second quarter of fiscal year 2023 in what continues to be a very difficult cost and operating environment," said P&G CEO Jon Moeller said in a statement.
"Progress against our plan fiscal year to date enables us to raise our sales growth outlook for fiscal 2023 and maintain our guidance range for EPS growth despite significant headwinds.”
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