Procter & Gamble reported a 28 percent increase in profit for the second quarter from last year, when results were impacted by a charge related to the U.S. tax reform.
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Looking ahead, the company affirmed its outlook for fiscal 2019 earnings, but raised its forecast for full-year sales growth. Shares of the company are gaining almost 3 percent in pre-market activity.
For the second quarter, net earnings attributable to P&G rose to $3.19 billion or $$1.22 per share from $2.50 billion or $0.93 per share in the prior-year period.
The year-ago quarter's results include a tax charge related to the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Core earnings per share for the quarter were $1.25, compared to $1.19 per share last year. On average, twenty analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $1.21 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Net sales rose slightly to $17.44 billion from $17.40 billion in the prior year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $17.15 billion.
Unfavorable foreign exchange negatively impacted sales by 4 percent for the quarter.
Excluding the impacts of foreign exchange, acquisitions and divestitures, organic sales increased 4 percent, driven by a 2 percent increase in shipment volume. Pricing was a 1 percent help to organic sales.
Looking ahead to fiscal 2019, P&G maintained its expectation for core earnings per share growth of 3 to 8 percent versus fiscal 2018 core earnings per share of $4.22. On an all-in reported basis, the company expects net earnings per share to increase 17 to 24 percent versus the prior year.
P&G raised the high end of its full-year guidance range for organic sales. The company now projects organic sales growth in a range of 2 to 4 percent, compared to the prior range of 2 to 3 percent.
The company now estimates fiscal 2019 all-in sales growth in the range of down 1 percent to up 1 percent, compared to the prior range of down 2 percent to in-line versus the prior fiscal year. ■