Shares of Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) traded flat Tuesday after it reported fiscal second-quarter earnings that beat on profit, but fell short on sales.
The company reported earnings of US$0.94 per share on revenue of US$16.5bn. The consensus earnings estimate was US$0.90 per share on revenue of US$16.7bn.
Shares of the maker of household goods like Pantene and Crest traded flat at US$81.
The revenue miss is likely to do little to reassure investors concerned about shrinking market share amid fierce competition from private label brands and upstart companies
Due to growing competition P&G's Gillette shaving business continues to be a weak spot for the company, with net sales dropping 3% in its grooming business for the quarter.
The business was also hurt by deep discounts by retailers which has been a tussle for the consumer giant over the past few quarters.
“We made important progress in fiscal 2018,” said Procter & Gamble CEO David Taylor. “We delivered strong volume and consumption growth, market share trends improvement, Core EPS and cash generation results above going-in targets, albeit with organic sales slightly below target. We are operating in a very dynamic environment affecting the cost of operations and consumer demand in our categories and against highly capable competitors.”
For P&G's fiscal 2019, the company said it is anticipating organic sales growth of 2 to 3%. It expects its core earnings per share to grow 3 to 8% up from its 2018 core EPS of US$4.22.
At the midpoint of the range, fiscal 2019 Core EPS guidance is US$4.45. This outlook includes an estimated US$0.9 billion headwind from foreign exchange and higher commodity costs.