P&G earnings hit by strong dollar/AFP
NEW YORK, April 23- Procter & Gamble Thursday reported lower earnings as the strong dollar weighed on sales of the company’s products, which include Gillette razors and Tide detergent.
Earnings for P&G’s fiscal third quarter were $2.2 billion, down 17.5 percent from the year ago period.
Net sales dropped in all five business divisions, with the biggest fall (11 percent) coming in beauty, care and personal care. However, when currency effects were stripped out, sales for this unit dropped just three percent.
Stripping out currency, sales in three other divisions rose, while a fifth segment, fabric care and home care, was flat.
“Our third quarter earnings results were largely in-line with what we had expected,” said chief executive A.G. Lafley.
“This quarter the productivity progress was offset by foreign exchange. As we have done before, we’ll offset foreign exchange over time through a combination of pricing, mix enhancement and cost reduction.”
To address the rise in the dollar, P&G has said previously that it will seek to enact price increases overseas and to shift more industrial capacity to hard-hit currency markets.
P&G’s earnings translated into earnings of 92 cents per share, matching analyst forecasts.
Revenues dropped 7.6 percent to $18.14 billion, below the $18.49 billion projected by analysts.
P&G shares dipped 0.2 percent to $82.90 in pre-market trade.
