Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) edged lower in pre-market despite releasing market-beating estimates after its second quarter sales rose.
The maker of Tide laundry products, Dawn dish soap and Charmin Tissue upped the high end of its full year earnings per share outlook by a percentage point, thanks to the recent tax law.
READ: Procter & Gamble slams activist investor Peltz's calls to reorganise business
In the second quarter, the company reported earnings of US$2.5bn, or 93 US cents a share, down from the US$7.88bn, or US$2.88 a share profits recorded a year earlier.
The quarter last year saw a benefit from a divestiture.
The company took a net charge of US$628mln in the quarter, due to an estimated repatriation charge of US$3.8bn and a net deferred tax benefit of US$3.2bn.
On an adjusted basis, earnings rose 10% to US$1.19 per share.
In the second quarter, revenue rose 3.2% to US$17.4bn, beating market expectations for earnings of US$1.14 a share on US$17.39bn in sales.
Tide Pods in latest social media trend
P&G has been in the limelight recently and all for the wrong reasons. It has been battling a social-media trend in which teens consume highly toxic Tide Pods detergent product for likes and shares.
This is not the first time that Tide Pods, small packs of concentrated liquid detergent, have caused concern since its launch in 2012.
In pre-market trade, its shares were down 1.49% at US$90.52.