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Procter & Gamble shares jumped Friday morning as the company said beauty sales helped propel higher-than-expected revenue growth during the latest quarter. The company also maintained its profit outlook for the full year.
Its stock was climbing nearly 5 percent in premarket trading on the news.
Here's what P&G reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:
* Earnings per share: $1.12, adjusted, vs. $1.09 expected
* Revenue: $16.69 billion vs. $16.46 billion expected
"This keeps us on track to deliver our top-and bottom-line targets for the fiscal year," CEO David Taylor said in a statement.
Net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30 climbed about 12 percent to $3.20 billion, or $1.22 cents per share, from $2.85 billion, or $1.06 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding one-time items, P&G earned $1.12 cents a share, 3 cents ahead of analysts' consensus.
Sales were about flat at $16.69 billion compared with $16.65 billion a year ago. That was ahead of the $16.46 billion expected by analysts. It reported organic sales growth, which strips out the impact of currency and other adjustments, of 4 percent, better than expectations for an increase of 1.6 percent and fueled by growth in its beauty division. The company owns major brands in this category like Pantene for shampoo and Old Spice for deodorant.
P&G said beauty net sales rose 5 percent during the latest quarter, while sales in its fabric and home-care division — P&G's largest unit by sales — climbed 2 percent. That helped offset net sales declines of 1 percent in the grooming category, a drop of 3 percent in health care, and a 3 percent decline in baby, feminine and family care.
The maker of everyday household goods like Tide laundry detergent, Crest toothpaste and Charmin toilet paper has been defending its market share against heightened competition from private-label brands and upstart companies, such as Brandless, Harry's and Dollar Shave Club. Its Gillette brand for razors has struggled as new entrants have entered the space and slashed prices.
P&G's profit margins have also been squeezed, hurt by rising commodity costs, shipping expenses and foreign exchange rates.
"We expect the revenue progress we are making and the bottom-line progress to hold up," CFO Jon Mueller told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Friday morning. "There is a very strong underlying economy and we are seeing — despite some of that angst that exists — increases in the rate of market growth, which you expect with the unemployment situation and eventually the wage situation increasingly significantly."
P&G said it's anticipating organic sales growth of 2 to 3 percent for fiscal 2019. It expects core earnings per share to grow 3 to 8 percent, up from 2018 core earnings per share of $4.22.
Its shares have fallen about 11 percent so far this year, bringing P&G's market cap to roughly $202 billion.
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